France PM promises more curfews as authorities seek to regain control

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu says local authorities will coordinate with mayors to decide whether to impose curfews.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has said new curfews will be imposed where necessary in parts of the country, as authorities sought to restore order after weekend demonstrations over the cost of living and issues in the education system descended into riots.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Lecornu said local authorities would coordinate with mayors to decide whether to impose curfews in their respective prefectures.

More than half a million people gathered across France on Saturday for demonstrations that brought together students demanding better education conditions and groups rejecting the high cost of living. The protests descended into looting and arson in numerous locations, with more than 2,500 people arrested.

Monday night passed without any major incidents across France, police have confirmed.

The government is due to hold a series of meetings as it intensifies efforts to contain the unrest, which followed weeks of student protests over education standards.

French Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff is due to meet social media bosses on Tuesday to discuss the protests. In a post on X on Monday, Henanff said goods looted over the weekend were being sold online and called on platforms to remove such listings.

Demonstrators have called for further protests this Saturday, but France’s main trade unions have not backed the call, with union officials due to meet Lecornu on Wednesday. On Thursday, Lecornu will hold talks with political parties about the protests, which come before presidential elections due to take place in April and May next year.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally, currently leads the polls. Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who leads La France Insoumise, is currently in second place. President Emmanuel Macron cannot stand because of France’s two-term limit.

Le Pen and Melenchon have both been accused of exploiting the protests before next year’s vote.

Alice Cohen-Morzadec, a spokesperson for the French Student Union, told Al Jazeera that the demonstrations were an “outburst” of anger in response to Macron’s policies, which she said had “destroyed” students’ living conditions.

“One student out of two cannot eat properly. One student out of three doesn’t have a permanent house to live in. We cannot study in these conditions,” Cohen-Morzadec said.