The senseless rioting that has brought mayhem to towns and cities across France shows signs of abating — although it could easily flare up again. The violence was sparked by the shooting dead by a policeman of a 17-year-old boy Nahel Merzouk as he accelerated away from a police check. The flames spread with alarming speed, fanned by social media, and shone an unforgiving light on deep-seated social tensions and political polarisation. These problems require a comprehensive and sustained response from President Emmanuel Macron and his government. France’s impoverished, ethnically diverse urban neighbourhoods will otherwise remain a powder keg, prone to detonation.

Macron deserves some credit for how he handled this crisis. Early on, he showed empathy for the dead youth, describing his death as “inexcusable” and “inexplicable”. The president’s opponents and police unions decried these terms as a violation of the presumption of innocence and a betrayal of the police. But it was imperative to try to douse the fire. The government, including hardline interior minister Gérald Darmanin, have followed the president’s lead and avoided inflammatory language. Macron also resisted demands to impose a state of emergency, which could have made things worse, while mobilising vast police resources to contain the unrest.

Macron’s Jupiterian approach to power over six years has done much to inflame public opinion. But it is his opponents on the right, far-right and far-left who have exploited this crisis to fight their culture wars. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon refused to appeal for order, showing it is not just one extreme that endangers the republic. The victim’s family, France’s football team and other celebrities showed more responsibility by pleading for calm.