France deploys up to 70,000 police and Paris closes major museums ahead of new protests
France is bracing for a new round of protests on Saturday after last week's violent unrest, with up to 70,000 officers deployed. Paris has closed the Louvre and other major museums.
French authorities have deployed a large police force on Saturday, 24 October, ahead of a new round of protests across the country, hoping to avoid a repeat of last week's violent unrest. Several of Paris's biggest museums are shut, including the Louvre, the Orsay Museum, the Picasso Museum and the Grand Palais, where a major Cézanne exhibition is on show. Last weekend, groups of masked vandals looted businesses, burned cars and attacked public buildings in Paris and other city centres.
Security measures
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said up to 70,000 officers would be deployed nationwide, backed by helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannon. More than half a million people took to the streets last week, and a large turnout is expected again.
Art Basel, one of the world's most prestigious contemporary art fairs, opened on Friday for a single day only, as organisers cancelled the weekend programme because of the threat of unrest. Shopkeepers in Paris have been barricading their premises all week; near Place de la République, a bank branch and other businesses were boarded up with wooden panels. Paris police prefect Patrice Faure urged shopkeepers to hire security guards, then clarified that protecting businesses is the government's responsibility.
Around 3,000 shops across France were damaged or looted last weekend. In Limoges, a suspected arson attack nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall. Marches are planned in Paris and Marseille, but local authorities have banned some rallies, including in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier. Trade unions have criticised the bans as violations of constitutionally protected freedom of expression. President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, has said the measures are needed to protect city centres, businesses and public buildings. His popularity is at its lowest since he took office in 2017.
Orléans demonstration
A demonstration in Orléans, about 110 kilometres south of Paris, will also be closely watched. Around 50 organisations, including labour unions, left-wing parties, student groups and anti-racism groups, have called for a protest against the far right during the two-day congress of Marine Le Pen's nationalist, anti-immigration party, ahead of next spring's presidential election.
How the protests began
The demonstrations began last month at a high school south-east of Paris over staff shortages, then spread to other Paris suburbs and nationwide. Students cite underfunded schools and staff shortages, particularly in lower-income areas, and some want reform of the university admissions system. With the government seemingly unable to answer their demands, the movement has grown into wider protests over rising living costs, just months before the vote to choose Macron's successor.
