PARIS — France will deploy around 70,000 police officers and other security personnel nationwide on Saturday as it prepares for further protests, a week after demonstrations turned into some of the country's worst urban violence in years. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced the deployment at a press conference in Paris on Friday, warning that calls for violence and looting were circulating on social media, AFP reported.
Source: AFP via Tob News, Oct 24, 2026
The operation will also mobilise helicopters, drones and about 20 armoured vehicles, along with 15 water cannon trucks, according to reports citing AFP, Bloomberg and France 24. Elite units normally used in counterterrorism operations will protect public facilities such as city halls.
Source: Seoul Economic Daily, Oct 24, 2026
Restrictions on demonstrations have been tightened across the country. Weekend protests have been prohibited in Lyon, marches in Paris are allowed only at the Place de la Bastille and along some routes in the eastern part of the city, and in Marseille local authorities will allow only union-organised protests that they have approved. President Emmanuel Macron said demonstrations would be banned except those held by authorised labour unions.
Source: Seoul Economic Daily, Oct 24, 2026
Major Paris institutions including the Louvre, the Orsay and Picasso museums and the Grand Palais have closed for the weekend, and Art Basel Paris has cut its programme, as organisers cited safety concerns.
Source: Particle News summary of AFP reporting, Oct 24, 2026
The protests began among high school students over learning conditions and have since spread nationwide, fuelled by broader anger over the rising cost of living. Courts have already sent 217 people, half of them first-time offenders, to prison over last Saturday's violence, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
Source: AFP via The Leaders Online, Oct 24, 2026
Adding to the tension, far-right leader Marine Le Pen is due to host her National Rally party congress in Orleans this weekend, with thousands of supporters expected and local authorities fearing clashes as counter-protesters also head to the city. Macron met representatives of secondary school pupils on Friday, but they emerged from the talks urging students to keep protesting until the government put forward concrete proposals. The unrest comes six months before elections to replace Macron, and a new poll has identified Le Pen as the frontrunner.
Source: AFP via The Leaders Online; AFP via Tob News, Oct 24, 2026
Italy is also stepping up security this weekend, deploying forces in eight cities including Rome and Milan for demonstrations over budget cuts and the rising cost of living. In Milan, additional soldiers deployed after last weekend's unrest will patrol the city centre, though Mayor Giuseppe Sala said there were no plans to shut down the city and urged shops to remain open.
Source: AFP via Tob News, Oct 24, 2026