France plans 70,000-strong police deployment as Paris museums close for protests
Authorities planned a nationwide security deployment for Saturday's demonstrations after violence the previous weekend. France 24 reported closures at major Paris museums.
France planned to deploy about 70,000 security personnel nationwide on Saturday, 24 October, as fresh protests followed violence and looting at demonstrations the previous weekend. Major museums in Paris closed as authorities prepared for the gatherings, France 24 reported.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the planned deployment at a news conference in Paris and warned that calls for violence and looting were circulating on social media, according to AFP. France 24 reported that the security operation would also include helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons.
Why France is preparing for renewed protests
The movement began with high school students protesting learning conditions and spread across France as anger over the cost of living drew broader participation, AFP reported. France 24 traced the first demonstrations to a school southeast of Paris where students objected to a lack of staff. It said students have also raised concerns about underfunding and, in some cases, the university admissions system.
The security preparations follow looting, burned cars and attacks on public buildings during unrest on the sidelines of demonstrations the previous Saturday, according to France 24. AFP reported that courts had sent 217 people to prison over those events, citing Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.
President Emmanuel Macron met representatives of secondary school pupils on Friday, 23 October. They emerged urging students to keep protesting until the government offered concrete proposals to address their demands, AFP reported.
Protest restrictions in Paris and Orléans
In Paris, police overturned a permit for union-led protesters to march between Bastille and Nation squares, AFP reported. Authorities also barred demonstrators from central areas of Lyon for the weekend. Those restrictions accompanied the nationwide deployment plan as officials sought to prevent another round of violence.
The weekend also brings a National Rally party congress hosted by Marine Le Pen in Orléans. Local authorities feared clashes with counter-protesters, AFP reported. The prefecture expected between 20,000 and 30,000 people at a demonstration against the party and said the gathering would be barred from the city centre.
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Sources and context
- France to deploy 70,000 police for fresh weekend protestsDawn, carrying AFP reporting
- French police deploy in big numbers and Paris shuts major museums ahead of new protestsFrance 24
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.