PARIS: French police said Wednesday that protests would be banned in parts of Paris on Thursday, as France braced for more demonstrations just days after rallies degenerated into some of worst street unrest in years.
The announcement came after President Emmanuel Macron took an apparent swipe at his US counterpart Donald Trump over exploiting France’s riots for political advantage in the US midterm election battle.
The Paris ban will last from 8:00 am to 8:00 p.m. (0600 to 1800 GMT) and apply to key landmarks in the French capital including the Elysee presidential palace, both houses of parliament, as well as tourist havens such as the Louvre museum and the Champs-Elysees.
Other areas where rallies will be prohibited include the Bastille and Republique squares, and the Chatelet-Les Halles shopping area which was heavily targeted by looters over the weekend.
France’s government has admitted it “lost control” in the frenzy of street violence that erupted last weekend, when masked youths clashed with police, looted shops and vandalized public buildings.
As his government struggled to contain a crisis that has damaged France’s image abroad and rattled financial markets six months before presidential elections, Macron appeared to accuse foreign leaders of attempting to take advantage of the protests.
Speaking during a visit to Qatar, the president implied that Trump, and possibly Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also fighting an election campaign, made “stupid comments” on the unrest for political gain, though he did not name either leader.
“There are people who campaign at France’s expense — leaders who are in campaign mode, whether here in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic,” he told reporters in Doha.
Trump has sought to link the unrest to “migrants, jihadists, and communists” as he campaigned for his Republican party in the United States on his anti-immigration messaging.
He also on Tuesday hailed French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who shares his ideologies, as surveys putting her as the frontrunner in France’s presidential race.
Trump’s ally Netanyahu, facing his own tough election battle, on Tuesday argued that France had been hit by an “invasion of extremist Islam.”
Several analysts have dismissed the claims that migrants were driving France’s protests.
Curfews
The unrest overshadowed demonstrations held Saturday in which more than half a million people marched nationwide against the cost of living. Those rallies followed four weeks of student protests that have closed many schools across France.
Since the rioting — the worst France has seen in years — and ahead of fresh cost-of-living demonstrations planned for Saturday, Macron’s government has warned it will brook no further violence.
Fresh demonstrations planned by high school pupils and university students were similarly struck down in both Paris and the southeastern city of Lyon.
Following a meeting on Wednesday with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, the leader of France’s hard-line CGT union, Sophie Binet, called for a “new phase” of protests, with strikes early next month.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said Wednesday that, of the 2,500 people taken into custody during and after the protests, 174 had been jailed. Another 917 had been formally prosecuted, he added.
The convulsion in the EU’s second-biggest economy has rattled financial markets already nervous about the country’s growing debt pile and deficit.
The yield on France’s benchmark 10-year bond passed five percent on Wednesday as investors demanded a higher return amid fiscal concerns.
On Friday, the Moody’s ratings agency is expected to lower its grade on France’s public debt.
Le Pen leads race
The latest poll, carried out by Ifop in the wake of the riots, suggested Le Pen would win the first round of the presidential election by a wide margin, and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon emerged as her most likely opponent in the runoff.
France’s neighbors Italy and Belgium were also experiencing similar unrest, on a smaller scale. Italy’s government has ordered 500 troops to Milan to stem street violence there.
While the curfews imposed in several cities have helped calm the situation, they have disrupted some access to late-night public transport.
“It’s quite disconcerting,” said one Paris commuter who gave only his first name, Louis, when he found his line closed. But “if it can prevent further acts of vandalism... then yes, I think it’s a good thing,” he said.
The Yellow Vest movement behind last weekend’s demonstrations announced Wednesday it plans a march on Saturday from Bastille square in Paris, and follow-up nationwide demonstrations on November 5.