PARIS – The French authorities are bracing themselves for a new round of protests on Oct 24, rolling out the military to back up police in a bid to prevent a repeat of the previous weekend’s riots and reassure markets unnerved by the violence.
There will be 20% more police on the ground than on Oct 17, according to the Interior Ministry.
The chaos that followed cost-of-living protests then led to the looting of 3,000 stores and 2,700 arrests.
On top of the reinforced police presence, special-intervention forces normally used for risky missions like counter-terrorism will be used if needed, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Oct 21.
Soldiers will help guard sensitive buildings. Helicopters, water canons and armoured vehicles known as Centaurs will also be available.
“It’s not just Paris. It’s many cities across France,” Thierry Clair, national secretary of the Unsa Police union, said in an interview. “There will be large-scale operations everywhere.”
At least 75% of the police force will be mobilised, a very high rate, with many postponing days off, he added.
Nuñez initially delayed a news conference on the government’s security plans after a man shot and killed one person and wounded four others on Oct 23. The person’s motivation was not immediately clear, though the prosecutors’ anti-terrorism office was looking into the situation, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a post on X.
During the news conference, Nuñez said the government would be “uncompromising” when it came to dealing with hooligans, and said there would be some 70,000 security forces mobilised on Oct 23.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Oct 22 that only protests organised by labour unions would be approved by the local authorities this weekend.
“The general recommendation is that there be no demonstrations in the coming days,” he said, framing the decision as a way to bring calm.
The restriction on protests means that people who are not in the marches are breaking the law, and is aimed at ensuring the rule of law, a French official said.
The crackdown prompted criticism from the left. It was described as “a historic attack on the right to protest” by far-left France Unbowed lawmaker Manon Aubry.
The unrest is “the result of 10 years of anger, caused by 10 years of violent Macronist policies”, Sophie Binet, head of CGT union, told Franceinfo radio, calling for “massive strikes” on Nov 5.
Any new unrest could increase fears about France’s finances at a time of heightened political uncertainty. France is struggling to reduce the budget deficit ahead of elections in six months, pushing up spreads between French and German government bonds into territory associated with the euro-area debt crisis.
Second round
Supported by a disparate movement of social media figures, students, unions and left-wing parties, the Oct 24 protests are framed as an “Acte II”, or second round, of a movement calling for better public services and government help with the cost of living.
Much of the anger is targeted at Macron, who six months before the end of his second term has never been so unpopular.
Macron pushed back at criticism from foreign leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who are both involved in election campaigns.
Speaking to reporters in Doha this week, he derided those making “stupid comments” on the unrest for political gain.
“There are people who campaign at France’s expense, leaders who are in campaign mode, whether here in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic,” he told reporters in Doha.
Like last weekend, the planned protests will be spread nationwide.
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally is holding its congress in the city of Orleans, in the centre of France, with leftists parties planning to organise a counter-protest that will draw tens of thousands.
The central city “will require a lot of personnel”, Clair said.
In Paris, shops, including luxury boutiques, have been boarding up windows and hiring more security personnel, and some will remain shut.
The main march in Paris, authorised by police, will stretch from the Bastille square to the Nation square, in the north-east of the city.
Kering, owner of Gucci and Balenciaga, remains vigilant for riot threats in the coming days, the chief financial officer of the luxury group said on an earnings call on Oct 22.
Carrefour warned that the social unrest will drag on its 2026 earnings, a sign of the economic impact from the riots.
Three popular museums, the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay and the Picasso Museum will close on Oct 24, according to Agence France-Press.
Marseille and Lyon banned protests on Oct 24 and extended curfews. BLOOMBERG