Police officers control members of student organizations as they arrive for a meeting with France's President for the first time since the student unrest began, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Friday.LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images
Some 70,000 law enforcement officers will be deployed across France on Saturday while the Louvre and several other major Paris museums will be closed as authorities seek to prevent renewed violence during planned protests.
Protests last week devolved into mayhem, with people setting fires, storming public buildings, smashing shop windows, looting and clashing with police. It was France’s most violent unrest in years.
Demonstrators plan to take to the streets again Saturday to denounce the high cost of living. Students, members of the CGT labour union and activists from the “yellow vest” movement, whose demonstrations against social injustice shook France in 2018 and 2019, are all set to join.
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French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes would be deployed, along with helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannons. In addition, elite police units will help secure public buildings like city halls in a “highly mobile” security operation, he said.
“There have been numerous calls from radical far-left groups on social media to commit acts of violence and vandalism. There have also been renewed calls for looting, with those messages clearly being spread by rioters,” Nuñez said at a news conference.
“We will be absolutely uncompromising” with those involved in violence, he added, warning that police will have a “very firm approach to making arrests, and there will be legal consequences.”
Protesters hold a banner reading: 'High school students target the Bac. The Bac (Anti-Crime Brigade) target the head' as they gather against poor education school conditions in Paris on Thursday.Teresa Suarez/The Associated Press
Paris museums to be closed
In a statement to The Associated Press, the Culture Ministry said the Louvre, the Orsay and Picasso museums as well as the Grand Palais would be closed. The ministry called on all institutions under its authority to adopt any necessary measures to ensure “visitor safety, staff protection and the preservation of artworks,” according to the statement.
After two days when admission was by invitation only, Art Basel Paris opened to the public Friday – but only for the day, with the threat of unrest prompting organizers to cancel the weekend program. One of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art fairs, Art Basel includes exhibitions by 211 international galleries at Paris’ Grand Palais.
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“This decision has not been taken lightly, and the safety of everyone involved in the fair remains our utmost priority,” organizers said in a statement Thursday.
Saloni Doshi, an art collector who travelled to Paris from India for the fair, grew worried last Saturday as she saw the fires and panicked people, and she received phone calls from friends asking whether Paris was safe. She agreed with the organizers’ rationale to close.
Antoine Donzeaud and Elisa Rigoulet, the owners of the gallery exo exo, felt the same.
“We understand this decision, which we consider reasonable and consistent with the urgency of the social demands currently unfolding in France,” they said in a text message.
Workers board up a storefront on the eve of a demonstration against rising living costs in Paris on Friday.Teresa Suarez/The Associated Press
An anti far-right protest is planned
A demonstration Saturday in the city of Orléans, about 110 kilometres south of Paris, will also be closely watched.
About 50 organizations have called for a protest against the far right on the sidelines of the two-day congress of Marine Le Pen’s nationalist, anti-immigration party ahead of next spring’s presidential election. Organizers include labour unions, left-wing political parties, student organizations and anti-racism groups.
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Hugues Moutouh, the prefect of the Loiret region, said that 20,000 to 30,000 demonstrators from across the country were expected.
Le Pen, whom opinion polls place as the front-runner in next year’s election, accused left-wing organizations and political parties of trying to “disrupt a political party’s democratic congress,” on news broadcaster Franceinfo.
Still, she said she had “no concerns” about security because the government had “recognized the need for measures allowing the congress to proceed safely.”