The French president's office said Emmanuel Macron has rejected Interior Minister Laurent Nunez's resignation after nationwide student protests over education conditions and demonstrations by people angered by the high cost of living turned into widespread riots and looting.
In a statement on Monday, the Elysee said Macron asked Nunez to stay on to ensure the chain of command in the police and security forces, and tasked the interior minister with developing new methods for dealing with looters.
The president also instructed Nunez to "take all necessary measures to ensure transparency about the planning and intelligence failures that led to the violence," according to the statement.
The Interior Ministry said more than 2,300 people were arrested and nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured during Saturday's protests. Protesters were also hurt, including one person who lost a hand when a police crowd-control grenade exploded.
The nationwide demonstrations brought together students demanding better conditions in France's education system and citizens protesting high living costs and declining public services.
More than half a million people took part in Saturday's protests. Looting, arson and property damage occurred in many cities as masked riot groups attacked town halls, police stations and other government buildings.
On Monday, Nunez acknowledged that police had "lost control" during the protests.
"On Saturday, in several major cities, after hundreds of shops were looted, I could not look shopkeepers in the eye and say we had not lost control," Nunez said.
The interior minister admitted there was a "lack of foresight" in the deployment of security forces on Saturday, arguing that numbers were insufficient to deal with the large crowds of rioters and looters on the fringes of the protests.
He estimated that around 60,000 law enforcement personnel were deployed nationwide that day.
"Given the damage that was caused, my submitting my resignation was entirely the right thing to do," Nunez said.
Looting continued on Sunday, and Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said on Monday that around 30 stores were targeted in the capital the previous day, describing the scenes as "unbearable."
Nunez said around 350 people were arrested in Paris on Sunday and overnight.
Nationwide, more than 2,330 people were taken into police custody over the weekend, 70 percent of them adults, according to Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin.
The weekend's violent protests followed weeks of high school students demonstrating against overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and low investment in education — the largest youth-led protest movement the country has seen in recent times.
