France deploys 70,000 police officers ahead of nationwide protests scheduled for Saturday, one week after riots that saw looting, arson and vandalism across the country. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said authorities would be "uncompromising with the vandals, with the looters, and all those who commit acts of violence." He cited social media calls for violence from "far left and radical extreme left" groups separate from organised demonstrations.
President Emmanuel Macron has restricted Saturday's protests to demonstrations organised by recognised trade unions, though several major cities including Lyon, Nice and Montpellier have announced blanket bans on gatherings. Paris has ordered a student trade union-led march to avoid the city centre. Museums including the Louvre and Orsay will close, and PSG's scheduled home football match has been moved to Monday. Businesses have boarded up windows in preparation for potential unrest.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters are still expected. The yellow-vest movement, which led major demonstrations during Macron's first term, has listed over 500 planned demonstrations for Saturday on an associated website and called for Macron's resignation. The website stated the group refused "to add our voices to the chorus of outrage" over last week's violence and accused police of attacking protesters.
Fast-track court hearings have resulted in 232 people imprisoned so far. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 1,100 have appeared in court, with around 260 cases involving "charges of organised gang activity." Darmanin ordered prosecutors to seek punitive measures against convicted rioters, including bans from demonstrations, removal of voting rights and restrictions on social media access.
The unrest follows weeks of student protests that escalated on 17 October. Opposition parties accused the government of failing to foresee the scale. Some cities have operated under partial curfews.
The protests occur amid high public disillusionment over cost-of-living pressures and warnings of future deep spending cuts needed to address spiralling debt. France is preparing for elections next spring, with Macron leaving office. Polls suggest a centrist candidate could fail to reach a run-off between the hard-right National Rally and radical-left La France Insoumise. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, criticised police tactics and called on supporters to join Saturday's protests.