France Extends Curfews in Several Cities Following Demonstrations

Istanbul (ANTARA) – Authorities in several French cities extended or imposed curfews on Tuesday night local time following violence during demonstrations at the weekend.

Paris and Lyon extended existing restrictions, while Marseille imposed a curfew for the first time, targeting minors.

In Paris, police extended the curfew to Place de la République and parts of the Les Halles district, from 11pm local time on Tuesday until 6am on Wednesday, according to the France Info news website.

Authorities also reintroduced a ban on all gatherings that had not been officially notified, from 8pm until 6am.

The ban covers several strategic areas of the capital, including the vicinity of the Élysée Palace, the National Assembly, the Senate, the Champs-Élysées, Châtelet and major railway stations.

In Lyon, the curfew in the city centre was extended from 9pm until 6am. Meanwhile, the ban on gatherings was brought forward from 6pm to 4pm and will remain in force until the curfew begins.

Benoît Payan, mayor of the coastal city of Marseille, announced a limited curfew targeting minors. It will run from 10pm on Tuesday until 5am for the next few days in parts of the city centre.

In Toulouse, authorities announced that a curfew would take effect on Thursday night and remain in force until Sunday, from midnight to 5am each day.

Curfews previously announced in Bordeaux and Nice remain in force as scheduled.

Separately, the French Professional Football League announced that the Ligue 2 match between Montpellier and Paris-based club Red Star, originally scheduled for Saturday, had been postponed following the announcement of plans for further demonstrations.

The match, due to take place on Saturday afternoon, has been moved to Monday at the request of the authorities.

Around 550,000 people took part in 110 demonstrations across France last Saturday, including 110,000 in Paris. About 400 people were arrested nationwide.