France Deploys 70,000 Police for Nationwide Protests

France will deploy 70,000 police at nationwide protests on Saturday, October 24, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday, aiming to prevent a repeat of the violence and looting seen last weekend.

Security Plan

• Elite security teams and heavily armed mobile squads will be mobilised alongside regular units, with 10,000 more police on the streets than a week ago.

• Mounted police, helicopters, drones and anti-drone systems will be deployed, with armoured vehicles and water cannon vehicles available. Curfews imposed in some sensitive areas remain in force.

• Nunez said authorities would be “uncompromising with rioters, looters and all those who commit acts of violence”, and that ultra-left groups had been urging activists online to target public buildings.

• Police have authorised only one union demonstration in Paris, rejecting requests from the main student union UNEF and the Yellow Vest movement. Marseille rescinded a ban and will allow a union demonstration, while UNEF says its rallies will go ahead regardless.

Background

Anger over living costs and strained public services has drawn students, workers and unions onto the streets in recent weeks, and authorities say radical militants and groups of young looters exploited the protests. Around 3,000 shops were ransacked last weekend, and business groups have urged stores to stay shut. The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and Opera House will be closed on Saturday, and the PSG-Lyon league match was moved from Sunday to Monday for security reasons.

A separate shooting west of Paris on Friday killed one person and wounded four, including a 12-year-old girl. Officials suspect an Islamophobic motive.