Protests are due to take place again in France on Saturday (24\nOctober). The country is now on maximum alert after similar\ndemonstrations last week led to rioting.<\/p>\n
On Saturday (17 October), France was hit by a wave of unrest\ninvolving arson and looting, in what was described as the country\u2019s\nworst such violence in several years. The unrest came exactly six months\nbefore an election to choose a successor to President Emmanuel\nMacron.<\/p>\n
In response, the authorities decided to place France on maximum\nalert.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are at the highest alert level,\u201d Jean-Didier Berger, France\u2019s\ndelegate minister at the Ministry of the Interior, told leading\ntelevision channel BFMTV, according to Anadolu Agency on Friday (23\nOctober 2026).<\/p>\n
Berger said the government \u201cis ruling nothing out in the coming days\nand weeks\u201d if it considers it necessary to ban gatherings or cultural\nand sporting events.<\/p>\n
He also said the number of security personnel deployed on Saturday\n(24 October) would be \u201c20 per cent higher\u201d than on 17 October, when\ndemonstrations in France were accompanied by riots, arson and widespread\nlooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have cancelled leave. We have recalled personnel who were due to\nbe on leave, and they will no longer be taking it,\u201d Berger said.<\/p>\n
As part of security measures for Saturday (24 October), France\u2019s\nelite Operation Sentinelle, GIGN and RAID units will also be\ndeployed.<\/p>\n
Operation Sentinelle is France\u2019s military counter-terrorism\noperation. GIGN \u2014 short for Groupe d\u2019intervention de la Gendarmerie\nnationale \u2014 is an elite tactical paramilitary unit under the French\nNational Gendarmerie, while RAID is an elite tactical unit of the French\nNational Police.<\/p>\n
President Emmanuel Macron announced at a security council meeting\nthat demonstrations not organised by trade unions would be banned for\nthe next few days, particularly on 24 October.<\/p>\n
Protests Banned in Several Areas<\/strong><\/p>\n Paris police announced a curfew from 11pm to 6am local time for\nadults and minors in the area around Place de la R\u00e9publique and Les\nHalles. It will run from Thursday night (22 October) until Sunday (25\nOctober).<\/p>\n Museums including the Louvre, the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay and the Picasso\nMuseum will be closed throughout Saturday (24 October), local time.<\/p>\n The French authorities have approved a demonstration in Paris,\nrunning from Bastille to Nation along a route proposed by the CGT trade\nunion. The \u201cYellow Vests\u201d coordinating group will also join, after its\nproposed route from Bastille to the Op\u00e9ra was rejected.<\/p>\n Protests are banned across Lyon, in central Toulon and in parts of\nLille on Saturday (24 October).<\/p>\n Demonstrations are also prohibited in parts of Paris from 8am to 8pm\nlocal time. According to AFP, the restricted areas include key locations\nin the French capital, including the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace, both parliamentary\nbuildings and popular tourist destinations such as the Louvre and the\nChamps-\u00c9lys\u00e9es.<\/p>\n Other areas where demonstrations are banned include the squares at\nBastille and R\u00e9publique, and the Ch\u00e2telet\u2013Les Halles shopping district,\nwhich was a major target for looting the previous weekend.<\/p>\n The French authorities have admitted they \u201clost control\u201d during the\nunrest that broke out in the streets last weekend, when groups of masked\nyouths clashed with police, looted shops and damaged public\nbuildings.<\/p>\n Justice Minister G\u00e9rald Darmanin said police had detained 2,700\npeople since Saturday (17 October), of whom 217 had been sent to\nprison.<\/p>\n French PM Plans Large-Scale Police Deployment<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu has pledged to deploy a\nlarge number of police officers to deal with further protests, following\nlast week\u2019s demonstrations and riots.<\/p>\n Lecornu acknowledged that the previous security response had been\ninadequate and promised a tougher approach to the next wave of protests,\nAFP reported on Wednesday (21 October 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cThe deployment of officers for this coming Saturday (24 October)\nwill be on a large scale,\u201d the French prime minister said.<\/p>\n He accused far-left radical groups of drawing up a \u201cplan for\ninsurrection\u201d that sparked the unrest.<\/p>\n Images of clashes between protesters and police, crowds looting shops\n\u2014 including luxury boutiques \u2014 and buildings being set alight last\nweekend prompted several countries, including the United States and\nChina, to issue travel advisories for their citizens.<\/p>\n On Monday (19 October), the French authorities announced partial\ncurfews in Paris and several other cities. Lecornu said additional\ncurfews would be imposed on Tuesday (20 October) in locations where\nnecessary.<\/p>",
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