France will deploy troops and mount a massive security operation in response to further planned protests for this weekend.
“The deployment next Saturday will be massive,” Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday, adding that the priority was to restore order after rioting and looting swept Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities during nationwide protests against rising living costs and declining public services (Reuters).
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the military would be deployed alongside police, and acknowledged shortcomings in the state’s response at the weekend. “I deeply regret what happened. I accept my share of responsibility,” he said (The Canberra Times).
It comes as partial curfews were implemented overnight in some French cities. A helicopter flew over Place de la Republique in Paris with a searchlight to monitor compliance with the curfew (France24).
Security forces have arrested a man over the burning down of a historic town hall in Limoges, the destruction having become a symbol of the violence (France24).