More curfews to be introduced in France after night without major unrest

France

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said targeted restrictions had helped restore calm following Saturday’s rioting and looting.

FRANCE WILL IMPOSE new curfews in areas where needed from today, prime minister Sébastien Lecornu said, adding that the measures introduced in several cities the previous day had “helped keep the night calm”.

France was rocked on Saturday by some of its worst rioting in recent years, just six months before the country elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.

Accused of failing to anticipate and contain the street violence, the government has pledged to restore order, and had announced partial curfews in Paris and some other cities on Monday.

“Targeted curfews have contributed to calm overnight,” Lecornu wrote on X.

“Tonight new curfews will be decided where the situation requires it. These decisions will be made on the ground, by the prefects, in coordination with the mayors,” he said.

Les couvre-feux ciblés ont contribué au calme de cette nuit. Je remercie les policiers et les gendarmes qui ont veillé à leur application, ainsi que les préfets pour leur mobilisation. Ce soir, de nouveaux couvre-feux seront décidés là où la situation le nécessite. Ces décisions seront prises sur le terrain, par les préfets, en lien avec les maires. @NunezLaurent

— Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) October 20, 2026

Police confirmed the night had passed without major incidents across France.

Several cities, including Paris, the southwestern city of Bordeaux and Nice on the French Riviera, introduced partial curfews on Monday in response to urban unrest that followed weeks of student demonstrations over poor learning conditions in high schools.

While some restrictions, such as those in Paris, initially applied only for the night from Monday to Tuesday, others, particularly in Bordeaux and Nice, were set to remain in force for several days.

During the night, a helicopter flew over the French capital’s Place de la Republique, one of the epicentres of the unrest, sweeping a powerful searchlight across the square to monitor compliance with the curfew.

In Lyon, despite a ban on demonstrations, around 500 people gathered on Monday evening outside the tourism office that was set on fire, to show support for shopkeepers affected by looting, according to organisers.

The word “LYON” had been spelled out on the ground with candles.

❓Lyon: plusieurs centaines de personnes rassemblées ce soir place Bellecour « en soutien aux commerçants et forces de l’ordre », malgré l’arrêté d’interdictions de rassemblements de la préfecture (en plus du couvre-feu). C’est pas clair @prefetrhone https://t.co/qSjr3dza08

— Hugo Francés (@hugo__frances) October 19, 2026

A banner hung on a fence nearby read “Anti-Rioters Lyon” and “Doucet Resign”, referring to Green mayor Gregory Doucet, an AFP journalist said.

Under pressure, the government scheduled another series of emergency meetings on Tuesday, including talks involving representatives of major social media platforms.

Finance Minister Roland Lescure pledged support measures for shopkeepers and craftspeople.

Patrick Martin, the head of France’s Medef business lobby group, on Tuesday accused the state of having “failed” during the urban unrest that hit at least 3,000 businesses, according to preliminary estimates.