Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday said the interim government had failed to control mob violence because it was weak, adding that since the elected government took office, there have been no such incidents except one or two isolated cases.

“The government is not giving any space to mob violence or disorder,” he said, adding that political parties would be allowed to hold meetings and express democratic views through regular means without causing public suffering.

He made the remarks during a courtesy meeting with French Ambassador to Bangladesh Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet at the Secretariat, according to a home ministry release.

Salahuddin said restoring law and order was a top priority, outlining short, medium, and long-term plans to strengthen policing and rebuild public trust.

“We are working on police reform with utmost importance. But this development cannot happen overnight; through continuous and phased improvement, we want to build a people-friendly police force,” he said.

On Rab reform, the minister said an elite force was necessary in any state structure. According to him, the force would be retained effectively through legal review, with its name revised and its existing manpower and logistics used.

The French ambassador said France wants to take bilateral relations to a new height by expanding cooperation, noting steps already taken to support capacity-building at the CID’s forensic lab.

Salahuddin also sought French technical assistance to strengthen anti-riot forces, directing the police’s Anti-Terrorism Unit and DMP’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit to engage with the embassy, and said the ministry had approved requests for meetings with the inspector general of police and chiefs of BGB, Coast Guard and Ansar.