French PM favors curfews over state of emergency in protest crisis

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Monday that a state of emergency could be imposed "if needed" over violent protests, though he favored curfews as a better response to the crisis. The unrest follows weeks of student demonstrations and occurred with six months until the presidential election. Lecornu said he was "absolutely determined to restore order" and had asked regional authorities to impose "localised" curfews Monday evening to protect businesses. At least 3,000 businesses were affected, and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez offered his resignation, which President Emmanuel Macron did not accept. Nunez said police and gendarme deployments would increase starting Monday evening. Lecornu accused the "ultra-left movement" of seeking to orchestrate unrest ahead of the election, potentially questioning the presidential vote's timetable.