Police have banned protests in parts of Paris, Lyon and Lille on Thursday as France prepares for more demonstrations on Saturday, days after student and other rallies descended into some of the worst street unrest in years.
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The Paris ban cited the organiser’s “inability to prevent violence and vandalism”, a police source said. The protest had been organised by the inter-university assembly Interfac IDF.
The ban runs from 8am to 8pm and covers key Paris landmarks, including the Elysée presidential palace, both houses of parliament, the Louvre museum and the Champs-Elysées.
Rallies are also prohibited in Bastille and République squares and the Châtelet-Les Halles shopping area, which was heavily targeted by looters over the weekend.
Student march bans
A march has also been banned in Lyon, where protesters destroyed the tourist office last weekend. The authorities cited “serious risks of a breach of public order, particularly given the current context”.
Thursday’s march was organised by the student union UNEF and the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) as part of the secondary school and university student movement, which began in mid-September over poor conditions in schools.
The bans come as France prepares for another big demonstration on Saturday, organised by the Yellow Vest movement over the cost of living crisis.
The government is seeking to avoid a repeat of last weekend’s street violence, when masked youths clashed with police, looted shops and vandalised public buildings. The unrest caused hundreds of millions of euros in damage, particularly in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Limoges.
Some 2,500 people have been taken into police custody, 174 have been jailed and another 917 have been formally prosecuted, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Wednesday.
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Security preparations
The authorities had “lost control” during the street violence, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
President Emmanuel Macron was due to meet French intelligence officials on Thursday to assess prevention, intelligence-gathering and security measures for the coming days.
The meeting followed criticism that security services underestimated the scale of the protests and the violence and looting that erupted on the margins of largely peaceful gatherings. The protests brought together students, Yellow Vests and unions over the cost of living crisis.
Representatives of political parties and mayors of some of the worst-affected cities are due to meet Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Thursday, a day after his discussions with trade unions.
A “new phase” of protests, with strikes early next month, was needed following those discussions, Sophie Binet, leader of the hardline CGT union, said.
France’s neighbours Italy and Belgium have also experienced similar unrest, though on a smaller scale. Italy’s government has ordered 500 troops to Milan to stem street violence there.
(with newswires)