France Imposes Curfews in Paris and Other Cities After Weekend Riots Injure 1,000 Police

French authorities imposed overnight curfews in parts of central Paris and several other cities following a weekend of widespread riots, looting and violence that injured nearly 1,000 police officers, damaged thousands of businesses and led to more than 2,400 arrests.

Curfews Imposed Across French Cities

Paris police issued an overnight curfew on Monday in two areas of the French capital. [2] Police in Paris said a curfew would be in force between 23:00 local time and 06:00 in Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping area. [4] A ban on unauthorised gatherings has also been imposed in several other parts of the city centre. [4] Partial curfews, variously restricting the movement of young people and gatherings, were announced for cities including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, and Lyon in the south, as well as Lille and other towns in the north. [4] In Nice, mayor Eric Ciotti said in a video posted online that he had signed an order installing a curfew for minors in central Nice overnight. [5] A source in Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office said a curfew for minors had been set between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the next two days in Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain with the agreement of the local mayors. [5] Marseille banned gatherings and demonstrations. [5] Paris police said they had issued orders barring protests in certain areas of the French capital from 8 p.m. and had issued a curfew around the Place de la Republique and Les Halles from 11:00 p.m. Both would remain in effect until 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning. [5]

Scale of Weekend Riots and Damage

The weekend of looting and violence between some protesters and police followed weeks of student demonstrations, rocking France six months ahead of its next presidential election. [5] Groups of rioters, some dressed in black and wearing masks and balaclavas, were seen setting fire to cars and buildings and looting businesses in Paris, Marseille and other cities and smaller towns. [4] In the central city of Limoges, the ornate 19th Century city hall was gutted by a fire started by rioters on Saturday, its clock tower and roof collapsing as the flames took hold. [4] At the Place Vendome in Paris, home to luxury hotels and boutiques, most shops were shuttered and surrounded by security guards on Monday. [5] The front door of a Dior boutique was smashed, while windows belonging to other luxury brand stores in central Paris, including Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Gucci, were damaged. [5] In Marseille, Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille said its official store on the city’s historic main avenue had been looted. [5] More than 2,000 shops and other businesses have been directly impacted by the weekend’s violence, the head of France’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry says. [4] The Federation of Trade and Retail said almost 3,000 shops had been affected over the weekend. [5] Its head, Alain Di Crescenzo, told France’s broadcaster RTL that damage from the riots was estimated at “hundreds of millions of euros”. [4] One demonstrator’s hand was blown off by a police crowd-control grenade, according to the AFP news agency. [4] Some 2,400 people were arrested and one protester died from a cardiac arrest on Saturday while nearly 1,000 officers were injured, according to the Interior Ministry. [5] More than 2,500 people have been arrested, officials said. [4] About 1,000 police officers were injured. [4] France deployed 60,000 police and other security forces on Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France Inter radio, but he acknowledged that was not enough to control violent crowds. [5]

Government and Political Reactions

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who has been strongly criticised by opposition politicians over the preparedness for the disorder but whose resignation was rejected by President Emmanuel Macron, admitted police had “lost control” in some cities. [4] Macron’s office said on Monday he had turned down his Interior Minister Laurent Nunez’s offer to resign, telling him instead to put an end to barricades and looting and be transparent over what Macron called “intelligence and foresight failings”. [5] Following a crisis meeting on Monday, the prime minister said local mayors were being given the power to implement curfews “where they need”, without specifying which cities where they would be enforced. [4] Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who did not rule out imposing a state of emergency in the country, said the government would also set aside funds to help affected areas recover from the damage, and that the costs would be recovered from those behind the violence. [4] Lecornu said the government would provide furlough measures from Tuesday. [5] He also announced a partial unemployment fund for those who could not work due to the riots and looting. [4] Nuñez said 200 investigators were analysing CCTV footage to try to identify possible ringleaders. [4] Lecornu blamed far-left groups for some of France’s worst unrest in years. [5] Some politicians have accused the left-wing La France Insoumise party of playing a role in the violence, with Lecornu alleging in an earlier news conference that some groups “want to create chaos in our country up until the presidential elections”. [4] The party’s leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who will stand in next year’s presidential election, responded by calling for the French PM to “prove his accusation” or “apologise, shut up, and stop stoking disorder”. [4] Hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon urged him to provide evidence. [5] The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon said in a joint op-ed in the newspaper Liberation that they were used to demonstrations and protests. [5] “But on Saturday … for the first time, we had the feeling that whole sections of our cities had been left without protection,” said the mayors, all from the centre-left. [5]

Underlying Protest Demands

The protests began last month with students demanding better school conditions, but they have since expanded to encompass a broader range of concerns, with numbers at demonstrations this weekend bolstered by trade unions and various protest groups. [4] Some 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets over the weekend for protests against rising fuel prices, the cost of living and deteriorating public services, including schools. [4] French unions meanwhile called for a new round of strikes and rallies on November 5. [5] Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest over what many say are declining and dysfunctional public services. [5]

International Travel Warnings

The US Embassy in France has issued an alert advising its citizens to avoid areas affected by the recent demonstrations. [4] The warning says to “exercise caution” if they find themselves close to large gatherings. [4] China and Germany have issued similar warnings. [4] European governments have advised citizens travelling to France to avoid large crowds and exercise caution. [5]

What to watch next: French unions have called for a new round of strikes and rallies on November 5, while 200 investigators continue analysing CCTV footage to identify possible ringleaders.