Emmanuel Petit urges migrants who reject France to leave after unrest
Former France midfielder Emmanuel Petit has criticised people involved in recent unrest, saying migrants who do not love France should leave. He distinguished rioters from peaceful demonstrators, whose grievances he said he understood, while also calling on the government to protect law-abiding residents.
Protests that began over high-school education conditions were followed by days of violence, including smashed windows and burning cars. Partial curfews were introduced in Paris, Bordeaux and Nice; Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said they had helped keep the night calm and that local authorities could impose further curfews. Police reported no major incidents overnight.
- Petit condemned rioters and called for order.
- He said peaceful protesters should not be conflated with violent groups.
- Curfews were imposed in several French cities after days of unrest.
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France is a country of immigration, and debates about integration, national identity and public services have long featured in its politics. Protests can bring together people with different concerns, while violence and damage to property are treated separately from peaceful demonstrations.
Emmanuel Petit is a former France international footballer who has spoken publicly about the unrest. The government, led by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, is responsible for public order, while local authorities can take measures such as curfews. These issues matter because they involve both residents’ safety and the right to protest.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A country can expect residents to respect its laws and reject violence, whatever their background. From this perspective, Petit’s call to leave is a forceful way of saying that people who reject France’s civic obligations should not be entitled to undermine the safety of others, and that the government must protect law-abiding residents.
The case against
People can belong to France while criticising its institutions or protesting poor conditions, and peaceful demonstrators should not be conflated with those who commit violence. From this perspective, telling migrants who do not love France to leave risks making belonging conditional on expressing the right sentiment, while diverting attention from the grievances that prompted the protests.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “French football legend Emmanuel Petit says migrants who ‘do not love my country’ should ‘go back to where you came from’ following days of protest violence”.