Police presence to be increased in capital: Kox

Minister of Internal Security Henri Kox, the Police Directorate, and the heads of police operations provided information on the protests and subsequent police response in Luxembourg City on Saturday.

Saturday saw widespread protests in Luxembourg City, with some protesters also demonstrating outside of the residences of Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, and Minister of Family Affairs Corinne Cahen. Cahen was instructed by police, whose main operational goal was to ensure safety and minimise the risk of injury or violence, to temporarily evacuate her home.

There were two protests, only one of which had been officially announced beforehand, Kox said, who had already held an emergency press briefing on Sunday morning. At some point, these two protests merged into one.

A rigorous risk assessment was carried out ahead of time. Numerous police officers from all over the country were called in as reinforcements. However, the fact that there was an unannounced protest with no official spokesperson or representative made it difficult for officers to prepare adequately.

The police focussed on de-escalation to prevent people from being harmed. While this objective was accomplished, the parties involved in the discussion agreed that intervention must not come too late.

The police should have intervened earlier: Kox

Officers were taken by surprise by the sheer number of protesters and their propensity to violence. The protesters came from "various different backgrounds".

A phased plan has been prepared for the protests announced for the upcoming weekend.

The Minister could not yet say whether the Luxembourg Police will be supported by officers from abroad.

An investigation by the judicial police is underway. Based on this information, the public prosecutor's office will decide on potential legal action.

Reactions by CSV and adr

Following the session, MP Laurent Mosar from the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) criticised that there were a lot of questions but only very few answers.

For instance, Mosar explained, there was no information on how many police officers were present on Saturday. The CSV MP stressed that it is unacceptable that people are afraid to visit the capital, adding that everything must be done to ensure a calm and orderly weekend in Luxembourg City.

Meanwhile, MP Fernand Kartheiser from the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (adr) was convinced the police were "overwhelmed" and that the risk assessment was not sufficient.

However, Kartheiser acknowledged that the officers on site acted professionally and managed to de-escalate the situation. But incidents like protests in front of private homes or assaults on Christmas markets must not be allowed to happen, the MP stressed. A better coordination is required for next weekend, Kartheiser underlined. Seeing as Luxembourg's police force was so quickly overwhelmed, reinforcements from abroad are probably required, according to the adr MP.

Kartheiser declined to comment on criticism aimed at his party colleagues Roy Reding and Sylvie Mischel, stating that he would do so in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday afternoon.