PARIS — France will again deploy about 70,000 police officers and gendarmes across the country on Saturday, October 31, as a fresh day of protests over wages and the cost of living coincides with Halloween, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Thursday, warning that the day poses a 'very high risk' to public order, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters, Oct 29, 2026

Nunez told reporters that several radical groups had used social media to call for violent gatherings that day, and that the response of the security forces would be 'extremely firm', Reuters reported. He highlighted the risk of disorder on Saturday evening in particular, once the more mainstream demonstrations have ended.

'We are seeing many calls for rallies coming from the labor movement, the radicalized far left, and certain radicalized Yellow Vests websites, urging people to attend rallies on public streets starting at 8:00 p.m. (on October 31) in many cities across France, accompanied by various messages which are, let's just say, quite radical,' Nunez said, according to Reuters.

Why Saturday evening worries officials

In a letter sent to prefects on Thursday, Nunez asked for particular attention to gatherings in public squares from 8 p.m. and to possible unauthorised marches, and called for a robust, responsive security plan along the lines of the one deployed on October 24, according to BFMTV's reporting of the letter, carried by Sortir à Paris. The minister also warned protesters not to use Halloween as a pretext for concealing their identity while causing disturbances.

Source: BFMTV via Sortir a Paris, Oct 29, 2026

70,000Security forces to be deployed across France on October 31 (Reuters)
410,000People who took part in marches last Saturday, the Interior Ministry said (Reuters)
Nov 5Nationwide strike called by labour leaders and students (Reuters)

The Interior Ministry has said 410,000 people took part in marches last Saturday, when authorities also deployed 70,000 police, helping to avert a repeat of the looting and vandalism that swept many cities on October 17, Reuters reported.

Labour leaders and students have urged further protests on October 31 and a nationwide strike on November 5, saying frustration over wages, living costs and public services is spreading far beyond the student movement that first mobilised last month, Reuters reported.

What happens next

Protest calls target Saturday afternoon and evening, October 31, including gatherings outside the National Assembly and town halls. Demonstrations are expected to be allowed away from city centres judged too risky, and unions have called a nationwide strike for November 5.