France tightens controls after riots, Macron says ban on "unjustified" protests

French authorities on Thursday (October 22) issued bans or restrictive measures on recent protests after last weekend's demonstrations. Previous demonstrations turned into the country's worst street violence in years.

After chairing a meeting of key ministers and intelligence officials, Macron said authorities would impose security measures such as a curfew, which would include a ban on protests by "unlegitimate groups". The top priority, he said, was to restore calm.

He said the rules are simple and nothing more than common sense; the general advice is not to hold demonstrations in the coming days; for those who still want to protest, if they are unions, the premier will propose alternative routes to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings. He also said he would chair a meeting of the National Defense Council on Friday to decide on next steps for nationwide demonstrations on Saturday and beyond.

Macron blamed the worst violence on "organized far-left groups aiming to overthrow the republic", accusing them of "sedition", as well as criminals who came to loot.

According to Reuters, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin took a tougher stance. He expressed his hope to suspend the voting rights of those who participated in demonstrations in defiance of the ban and to restrict the use of social media for those involved in violence, robbery or assaulting police. He revealed that of the 2,700 people arrested last weekend and thereafter, 217 people have been convicted and imprisoned, and another 1,000 people are being prosecuted.

The Mouth-Rhône department, where France's second-largest city Marseille is located, announced a ban on all local protests on Saturday, citing "obvious security reasons." Lyon, the third largest city, also announced a ban on "all protests" on Saturday. Last weekend, 200 to 300 shops in the city were looted and a tourist office was set on fire. The local mayor described it as "chaos" that lasted for several hours. Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre and Toulon have also issued city center bans; marches in Montpellier will also be banned, according to the Associated Press.

In Paris, police said Saturday's march could start from Place de la Bastille and be held in the east of the capital, but would not enter the city center, where shops and major public buildings are concentrated. Yellow vest activists, who organized cost-of-living rallies with their unions, did not accept the arrangement.

The French Interior Ministry said that the number of police deployed on Saturday will increase by 20% compared with last weekend. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said there would be a "massive" security operation to prevent a recurrence of violence by small groups of thugs.

Demonstrations planned for Thursday in Paris, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble were initially banned, seen by some as a violation of constitutionally protected rights to protest. After Paris organizers lodged a complaint, an administrative court ruled to lift the police ban and the march was allowed to go ahead.

Protesters rallied peacefully in the city's southeast amid a heavy police presence. The banner they unfurled read: Our future looks bleak enough even without tear gas, according to the Associated Press. Organizers signed police documents pledging to remain in place and not march due to the risk of violence. Public transport operators still closed several metro stations in central Paris in anticipation of unauthorized gatherings.

Student leader Coppelia Moreau said authorities were trying to distinguish between "good" and "bad" protesters. She believes that the government actually does not want any demonstrations at all, which violates the right to demonstrate.

The movement first broke out last month in a secondary school in Créteil, a suburb southeast of Paris, due to a shortage of teaching staff. Since then, strikes, campus blockades and demonstrations have spread to other suburbs of Paris and then to the country, including small towns. Students had been protesting for four weeks before the October 17 rally.

Concerns raised by middle school students include insufficient school funding, dilapidated facilities and staff shortages, especially in low-income communities; some are also demanding reforms to a college admissions system that is widely seen as unfair. With the government seemingly unable to respond, campus protests have spiraled into a larger movement against the soaring cost of living.

On October 17, more than half a million people participated in nationwide demonstrations, with clashes, large-scale looting and damage to public buildings erupting on its fringes. Two people have been arrested over the arson attack in Limoges after a fire nearly destroyed the 19th-century town hall. According to AFP, Macron's government has admitted that the police were out of control at the time. A nighttime curfew was imposed in parts of the French capital and other cities where calm has returned, with a third straight night of no major incidents in affected areas, giving the government some breathing space ahead of the weekend.

Thursday's protest was seen as a prelude to Saturday's larger demonstrations. Activists from France's General Confederation of Trade Unions (CGT) and the Yellow Vests movement are expected to join, and France's main student union, the National Union of Students (UNEF), has also called for a rally. Student groups say they will continue mobilizing even as the fall break begins.

Union representatives said that the meeting with Prime Minister Le Corny did not result in concrete proposals and that they are now focusing on another day of action on November 5 and calling on public and private sector employees to participate. Le Kearney will meet with student groups, unions and employer federations next Monday.

The business community is already taking precautions. Merchants in central Paris began boarding up their windows, and luxury goods group Hermès said it had stepped up security at its French stores. Art Basel in Paris announced that it would be closed for the entire weekend, two days earlier than originally planned; the Ministry of Culture announced that many Paris museums, including the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, would be closed on Saturday. In the northern city of Orleans, the far-right National Alliance party is scheduled to hold its annual conference there, while trade unions and left-wing groups plan demonstrations, and the authorities are also on alert.

French politics is locked in recriminations. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, currently leading the polls for the presidential election in April to May next year, accused Macron and his centrist government of being too weak and lacking authority; far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who was criticized by the government for not strongly condemning protest violence, blamed the unrest on the authorities' "non-stop brutal repression." At a high-level meeting of the major political parties chaired by Le Korny on Thursday, most parties sent their leaders, while the National Alliance was only attended by a lower-level party official.

The unrest has revealed deeper unease in France: Soaring energy costs, pressure on household budgets and deteriorating public services are building frustration among workers and young people. Candidates vying for the presidential election in six months argue that the authorities are unable and unwilling to calm the situation, AFP reported.

Investors' concerns are also evident. According to Reuters, the risk premium of French government bonds relative to safe-haven German Bunds widened to its highest level in 15 years on Thursday, with France's benchmark 10-year government bond yield rising to 5.14%, the highest since July 2002.