France has deployed 70,000 police officers nationwide ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations, as authorities brace for possible violence following a wave of vandalism and looting last week.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez urged officers to respond swiftly to troublemakers, warning that shops, public institutions and security personnel could be targeted.
“We have to be ultra, ultra responsive. We have significant calls for disruption from political groups and quite simply from criminals,” Nunez told police in Paris. “It is going to be a long day.”
In the capital, soldiers from an anti-terrorism military unit patrolled the Champs-Elysees, while police vans moved around the Arc de Triomphe to protect prominent landmarks from further unrest.
The security operation involves 10,000 more officers than were mobilised for demonstrations on October 17, when widespread looting and vandalism raised concerns about the government’s ability to maintain public order.
Protests in recent weeks have drawn students, workers and trade unions angered by rising living costs and pressure on public services. Authorities, however, say radical groups and young looters have taken advantage of the demonstrations to cause disorder.
Businesses across Paris have taken precautions, with many shopkeepers boarding up their storefronts and luxury retailers strengthening security. Business groups have also urged stores to close after thousands of businesses were damaged or looted across France last weekend.
Lidiya Shevchenko, a sales assistant at a Graziella Braccialini store in Paris, said she expected few customers to visit luxury boutiques during the demonstrations.
“I suppose the mood is just as important when it comes to shopping,” she said.
Several major cultural attractions, including the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Opera House, announced closures for Saturday. More than 20 metro stations were also shut.
Uncertainty remained over the route of the main Paris march after police sought to move organisers away from the city centre towards the southeastern outskirts.
The Paris police prefecture said the proposed route carried a significant risk of disorder because of the concentration of businesses similar to those targeted during the October 17–18 unrest.
The decision drew criticism from the left. Jean-Luc Melenchon, a hard-left leader, accused authorities of making it difficult for organisers to rearrange their demonstrations at short notice.
Restrictions on protests have also been imposed in other parts of France. Marseille reversed an earlier ban and approved a union march, while demonstrations remain restricted in central Lyon. Union rallies are scheduled in Strasbourg, but bans remain in place in several other cities, including Nancy, Metz, Rouen, Le Havre, Toulon and Limoges.
The first authorised march began mid-morning in Orleans, about 120 kilometres south of Paris, where demonstrators gathered to oppose the far-right National Rally during its congress in the city.
“We have come to tell the far right, face to face, that we are not afraid,” said Bally Bagayoko, mayor of Saint-Denis and a member of the hard-left France Unbowed party.
Tensions were further heightened by a shooting west of Paris on Friday. A gunman suspected of acting out of Islamophobic hatred killed one person and wounded four others, including a 12-year-old girl.
Ojo Triumph
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