French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has asked regional authorities to impose partial curfews in some cities as the government seeks to restore order after a weekend of protests over the cost of living and state of education led to rioting and looting that left hundreds of businesses damaged.
"I am absolutely determined to restore order," Lecornu said after an emergency meeting with senior government officials on Monday.
He said a state of emergency remained an option but that curfews were better suited to the situation.
"A state of emergency is still a very serious measure,” he said. "So if it is necessary, of course we could do it. As things stand, however, the issue of curfews, and the implementation of those curfews, seems better suited to the situation we may be facing."
However, he ruled out a blanket curfew in Paris.
In Marseille, France’s second-largest city, authorities banned demonstrations and public gatherings between noon and 8pm on Monday.
The city's police prefecture said more than 30,000 people had taken part in looting, including 8,000 "rioters", during the weekend's violence.
Loot sold online
Crowds forced their way into the City Hall (Hôtel de Ville) and attacked the central municipal police station.
The city's chamber of commerce estimated that more than 500 city-centre shops were vandalised, most of them looted.
The Minister of Commerce Serge Papin announced on social media platform X on Monday that a meeting would be held with the interior and justice, as well as with online resale platforms, following reports that items stolen during the protests on Saturday "are being offered for sale on certain platforms."
"We expect these platforms to remove the listings in question without delay," the minister wrote, adding, "Such behavior will not go unpunished."
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Police 'lost control'
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez offered his resignation on Monday after admitting that police had "lost control" in some major cities. But he agreed to remain in his post at President Emmanuel Macron's request.
"You can’t look shopkeepers in the eye when hundreds of businesses have been looted and say we haven’t lost control in some of these major cities, obviously." Nunez said.
He also said there were no plans to cancel Tuesday evening’s football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.
Several European governments have advised citizens travelling to France to avoid large crowds and exercise caution, warning of a deterioration in security conditions, Reuters reported.
China's foreign ministry and its embassy in France urged citizens to "raise their risk awareness, closely monitor the local situation, strengthen safety precautions, and avoid demonstration areas", according to CCTV.
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Emergency aid for businesses
The government says at least 3,000 businesses nationwide were affected by vandalism or looting over the weekend. They will be eligible for short-time working arrangements from Tuesday, with the government covering the cost in full, Lecornu said.
A special support fund will also be set up to help businesses recover.
"Many shopkeepers had already stocked up, including for Christmas," the prime minister said, adding that they needed help with cash flow.
Meanwhile, a large clean-up operation is under way in Paris and other cities, with street cleaners clearing shattered shop windows, burned bicycles and damaged bus stops.
More than 700 people have been placed in police custody in relation to the weekend's unrest, according to the Paris public prosecutor’s office.
The mayors of France’s biggest cities have demanded answers from the government over what they described as inadequate preparation by security forces.
'Never seen anything like it': mass looting grips Paris
More protests planned
Lecornu defended police officers who faced violent groups and accused the "ultra left" of seeking to create disorder ahead of next April's presidential election.
He said intelligence agencies had warned the government that far-left political groups might try to disrupt the election campaign.
"On Saturday, despite scenes of severe violence and extensive property damage, no one was killed, and that is a miracle," he said.
The unrest followed weeks of student demonstrations and school blockades over teacher shortages and poor conditions, alongside protests over the cost of living.
Some protesters also blocked access to the Louvre museum in Paris on Monday to show support for high-school demonstrations and denounce what they called police repression. The museum was unable to open to visitors.
Representatives of the Yellow Vest movement, which staged months of protests over fuel hikes and the cost of living in 2018 and 2019, have called for another day of demonstrations on Saturday 24 October.
The European Union has said the right to peaceful protest must be protected, while condemning arson, looting and attacks.
"Those who demonstrate peacefully must not be conflated with those who commit violence," EU spokesman Markus Lammert said.
Germany condemned the violence and updated its travel advice for France, saying "further demonstrations and, in some cases, further outbreaks of violence in the coming days cannot be ruled out".
The United Kingdom said the right to protest "can never excuse violence".
(with newswires)