Interior minister admits loss of control

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged a "loss of control" in certain cities during urban violence that erupted at the margins of demonstrations against the high cost of living. Calls to deploy the army are flooding social networks, despite legal and practical considerations surrounding such a move.

Legal framework for military deployment

According to the 2017 inter-ministerial instruction, "no armed force can act on the national territory for the needs of defense and civil security without a legal requisition, provided that the means of the civilian authority are considered non-existent, insufficient, unsuitable or unavailable."

Military organization for civil unrest

General Bertrand Cavallier, a specialist in law enforcement, stated that deploying soldiers would have "no interest" knowing that there is already a military organization armed force, the mobile gendarmerie, which trains for all scenarios, including when riots could turn into armed insurrection.

Presidential authority and military roles

The President of the Republic can, under Article 15 of the Constitution, decide the deployment of the armed forces on the national territory as part of an internal operation. They then become a "third category" public force, understood as a support force, after the units of the departmental gendarmerie and the republican guard, and the units of the mobile gendarmerie. They are not, however, intended to be deployed to control or disperse demonstrations, crowds, riots.

Legal restrictions on military action

Article L.1321-1 of the Defense Code provides that no armed force, except the national gendarmerie, can act on the national territory without a legal requisition. The armed forces can, however, be deployed under requisition, provided that the means of the civilian authority are considered non-existent, insufficient, unsuitable or unavailable, according to the inter-ministerial instruction of November 14, 2017.

State of siege and its limits

The only exceptional regime expanding military powers is the state of siege, which transfers the powers of the civilian authority to the military authority. There has been no application of this type under the Fifth Republic. Pauline Gervier, an associate professor of public law at the University of Bordeaux, explains that it is provided in article 36, and its application cannot be extended beyond twelve days without parliamentary authorization. It can be declared in case of an imminent danger resulting from a foreign war, or an armed insurrection. We are in neither of the two cases, but the regime in its current state is very light, since a simple decree by the Council of Ministers is sufficient to trigger it, parliamentary opinion intervening only after twelve days, even though the decree can also be challenged in court.

Military limitations and training

Bertrand Cavallier, a specialist in law enforcement, points out that "the army is very limited in numbers, and largely composed of support units." "And the combat units, they do not have a culture of law enforcement. What would young soldiers do against a very violent mob? It would have no interest to deploy them, knowing that there is already a military organization armed force, which is the mobile gendarmerie. It trains for all scenarios, including when riots could turn into armed insurrection."

Political and practical concerns

Pauline Gervier stated that deploying the army would also be "politically inappropriate, while the President of the Republic is calling for calm and peace." Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers are already deployed on the national territory within the framework of Sentinelle. If the operation is linked to the level of terrorist threat, the personnel can be assigned to other missions, but not law enforcement, always in accordance with Article L.1321-1 of the Defense Code. Soldiers can, however, protect sensitive sites to free up police and gendarmes, which happened during the "yellow vests." Bertrand Cavallier, however, warns of the risk that "a large number of rioters could take their weapons from them," or conversely that a soldier "resists to prevent them from taking his weapon." "It is a very sensitive question in such a context."