Laurent Nuñez

Laurent Nuñez

Role at the time: French minister of the interior, at a press briefing at the Interior Ministry in Paris

Response to this claim

Laurent Nuñez is responsible for serious injuries to protesters because he ordered police to use weapons he knew could mutilate.

“I regret that there were these injuries, I truly and very sincerely regret it, but every time police officers or gendarmes use force, it is because they are acting within a legal and regulatory framework (Translated from French. Original: Je regrette qu'il y ait eu ces blessés, je regrette vraiment et très sincèrement, mais chaque fois que les policiers ou gendarmes engagent la force, c'est qu'ils sont dans un cadre légal et réglementaire)”

Laurent Nuñez

Role at the time: French Minister of the Interior, in an interview on France Inter

Statement summary

On France Inter, Nuñez says he submitted his resignation because he is responsible for everything that is happening, and acknowledges that authorities lost control in some major cities.

“I submitted my resignation because I am responsible for everything that is happening. (Translated from French. Original: J'ai remis ma démission parce que je suis responsable de tout ce qui se passe)”

Laurent Nuñez

Role at the time: French Minister of the Interior, in a post on his X account

Statement summary

The day after the protests, Nuñez thanked and gave his full support to the police, gendarmes and firefighters, and said the first attacks were committed by several thousand ultra-left individuals.

“I warmly thank and give my full support to the police officers, gendarmes and firefighters who, all over France, intervened in extreme conditions. From midday, and in Marseille from the morning, abuses were committed by several thousand ultra-left individuals determined to attack our public buildings and to confront our security forces. (Translated from French. Original: je remercie vivement et j'apporte mon total soutien aux policiers, aux gendarmes et aux sapeurs pompiers qui, partout en France, sont intervenus dans des conditions extrêmes. Dès la mi-journée, à Marseille dès le matin, des exactions étaient commises par plusieurs milliers d'individus d'ultra gauche décidés à s'en prendre à nos bâtiments publics et à prendre à partie nos forces de l'ordre.)”

Laurent Nuñez

Role at the time: France's interior minister, answering the National Assembly

Statement summary

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez defended the amended firearms bill in answer to a question from Jérôme Legavre in the National Assembly. He said the presumption applies to the five cases in which existing law already permits police and gendarmes to use firearms, can be rebutted quickly, and leaves room for investigations. He rejected opponents' description of the bill as a license to kill.

“What we are creating is a simple presumption, which can be overturned very quickly, as the text provides. So stop saying everywhere that we have created a license to kill! (Translated from French. Original: Ce que nous créons est une simple présomption, qui peut être renversée très rapidement, ce que le texte prévoit. Arrêtez donc de dire partout que nous aurions créé un permis de tuer !)”

Laurent Nuñez

Role at the time: French minister of the interior

Response to this claim

The bill creates a simple, rebuttable presumption and does not prevent judicial investigations or prosecutors from treating an officer as a suspect when the statutory firearm-use conditions appear not to have been met.

“This bill provides only for a simple presumption (it is written in black and white), which can be lifted at any time. I heard it said earlier that one would have to wait for the judgment. That is not the case: any prosecutor will be able to place a police officer or gendarme in custody if he considers that the weapon was not used within the framework provided by Article 435-1 of the Internal Security Code. (Translated from French. Original: Cette proposition de loi ne prévoit qu’une présomption simple – c’est écrit noir sur blanc –, qui peut être levée à tout moment. J’ai entendu dire tout à l’heure qu’il faudrait attendre le jugement. Ce n’est pas le cas : n’importe quel procureur pourra placer en garde à vue un policier ou un gendarme s’il considère que l’usage de l’arme n’a pas été fait dans le cadre prévu par l’article 435-1 du code de la sécurité intérieure.)”

Laurent Nuñez

Role at the time: Minister of the Interior

Statement summary

Nuñez says the presumption could be overturned at any time and would leave investigations and custody available. He makes government support conditional on replacing the initial self-defense proposal with a presumption of lawful firearm use.

“Une présomption, cela se renverse par tout moyen, à tout moment, par toute personne.”