Lyon bans all protests on Saturday after riots over cost of living
Authorities have banned all protests in Lyon, France's third-largest city, for Saturday, 24 October, after demonstrations against the cost of living last weekend turned into looting and arson. Organisers are nevertheless urging people to take to the streets again and to join a general strike on 5 November.
All protests are banned in Lyon, France's third-largest city, this Saturday, 24 October. The prefecture of the Rhône region, which represents the state authorities in the area, announced the decision on Thursday. The ban is a response to disorder over the previous weekend, when protests against the rising cost of living turned into riots.
What the prefecture said
In its statement to the media, the prefecture said that, in view of the events of 17 October, the prefect had decided by decree to prohibit all protests in the city of Lyon this Saturday.
What happened on 17 October
In Lyon, as in Paris and other French cities, last weekend's protests against the cost of living degenerated into riots. Last Saturday in Lyon, between 150 and 200 shops were looted and a tourist office was burned down. Police detained about 200 people.
New calls to take to the streets
The main organisers of the protests are the Yellow Vests movement and trade unions. They have urged French people to go out onto the streets again on 24 October to protest against the cost of living, and to hold a general strike and demonstrations on 5 November.
This week a curfew was imposed in several French cities, including Lyon. Local authorities have therefore introduced both movement restrictions and a protest ban in a city that saw some of the most extensive looting during the unrest.
