Orléans says it will impose exceptional security measures ahead of the far-right National Rally's congress this weekend, when counter-demonstrations against "racism, fascism and imperialism" could drawn up to 25,000 people.
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France’s National Rally (RN) will officially launch its 2027 presidential campaign in Orléans this weekend.
Party president Jordan Bardella is expected to be re-elected to his position unopposed, while Marine Le Pen will formally launch her campaign to become France's next president at a rally on Sunday.
The RN is currently polling as the frontrunner in next April's election and a recent poll found that Le Pen's popularity had been given a further boost following the rioting and looting seen in various French cities last weekend.
In a video address on 18 October, Le Pen said the urban violence amounted to a “deep crisis of confidence and authority” and accused the government of having "lost control of everything".
The congress is expected to attract 5,000 people on Saturday and 10,000 on Sunday.
Sizeable counter-demonstrations are also planned. Around 50 organisations have called for a protest against “racism, fascism and imperialism”, scheduled to begin at 10.30am on Saturday, starting outside the city’s cathedral.
Security sources told French news agency AFP that between 20,000 and 25,000 people were expected to attend.
'No chaos here'
“My aim is to protect Orléans. There will be no chaos here, there must not be,” Serge Grouard, the mayor of the city, said at a news conference on Thursday.
He said the numbers expected were unprecedented for Orléans and urged residents to use their common sense, while vowing to take a tough stance against any looting or vandalism.
“We are anticipating everything we can anticipate,” he said, announcing that several public venues, including museums, would close and scheduled performances would be cancelled.
Tram services will be suspended throughout Saturday, while bike share scheme bicycles will be removed from the city centre.
“We have no guarantees, but we are trying to reduce this uncertainty as much as possible,” Grouard said.
The mayor said he could order all shops to close if violence broke out, depending on how the situation developed.
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Large-scale security operation
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on Wednesday that an “extremely substantial security operation” would be deployed in the city, following a request by RN vice-president Sebastien Chenu.
Large numbers of mobile security forces will be assigned to protect both the party congress and the demonstrations that have been officially declared.
Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist party, said he would take part in Saturday’s demonstration to protest against “the normalisation of the far right”, but would take care not to “disrupt” the RN's congress.
“What worries me is the fact that nobody wants to acknowledge that this party [RN] could, next year, actually come to power and instil state-sanctioned xenophobia,” he told Franceinfo on Thursday.
However, he added: “I have no intention of disrupting their conference or staging a coup."
Other political figures, including Bally Bagayoko, mayor with the far-left France Unbowed party, and Sophie Binet, head of the CGT trade union, have also said they will attend.
"We’re not worried at all, because the law allows order to be maintained, people to demonstrate peacefully and the largest group in the National Assembly to hold its conference," RN lawmaker Philippe Ballard told RFI, adding that the party had been "promised" sufficient police protection.
"But really, this is where we’ve got to in France: you need virtually exceptional security arrangements just to hold a party conference."
Le Pen was found guilty of embezzling European Union funds last year, a conviction upheld by the Paris Court of Appeal in July.
However, she has made a final appeal to the Court of Cassation, France's highest appeals court, which could rule by early April 2027 on whether she is eligible to run for election.
(with newswires)