“You will know how to maintain order,” says Laurent Nuñez to the mobilized police officers
Faced with “significant calls for disturbances, we will have to be extremely mobile,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told the police in Vincennes (Val-de-Marne). “I am behind you […] I know that you act within a legal and regulatory framework, I know that everything you do is proportionate […] you will perfectly know how to intervene and maintain order,” he added.
Our journalist is on site in Orléans
Our journalist Thibaut Le Gal is present in Orléans where the National Rally congress is taking place this weekend. A demonstration against the far-right party is planned for Saturday morning.
The order banning demonstrations in Bouches-du-Rhône partially suspended in court
The administrative court of Marseille partially suspended the prefectural decree prohibiting any demonstration on Saturday in Bouches-du-Rhône by finally authorizing gatherings in the municipalities of Gardanne, Istres, Martigues, Miramas and Tarascon, according to the decision consulted on Saturday by AFP.
“The right to popular response is legitimate” insists Bally Bagayoko
Present in Orléans on Saturday morning, the mayor of Saint-Denis Bally Bagayoko (LFI) indicates that “the right to popular response is perfectly legitimate”. “Prohibiting mobilizations is silencing the demand,” he insisted.
A curfew established for minors in Orléans
The mayor of Orléans, Serge Grouard, announces a curfew for the next two nights for minors under 15 years old.
Demonstrations expected elsewhere in Europe
The French are not the only ones to mobilize this Saturday. In Italy, a massive deployment of security forces is planned for protests expected in eight cities, including Rome and Milan. These demonstrations are part of a wave of protests led by students, truck drivers and farmers against budget cuts and the high cost of living, particularly in terms of housing and fuel.
In Albania, demonstrators are to meet in Tirana to denounce poor study conditions, corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama after a week punctuated by violence then a relative return to calm.
The police will “have to divide the effort”
Faced with the late change of route in Paris, the police will “have to divide the effort”, regrets Anouck Fourmigué, head of the police commissioners union (SCPN) on France Info. “It’s not easy for the police […] obviously, we’re not going to leave the Place de la Bastille without police,” she said. This ban on demonstrating in the locations initially announced “necessarily divides our ability to be present everywhere immediately”.
The left worried and furious about the change of course in Paris
Olivier Faure (PS), Marine Tondelier (Les Écologues), Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI)… The left-wing leaders unanimously castigated the late change of route of the demonstration in the capital, imposed by the Paris police headquarters. They denounce a way of “playing with the disorganization of the processions” and of “sowing confusion and therefore panic”.
The Council of Europe calls for respecting the right to demonstrate
The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty, on Saturday called on states shaken by protest movements to respect the right to demonstrate and to favor "de-escalation" in maintaining order.
“I call on member states to protect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to ensure that police supervision respects human rights,” he said.
Sébastien Lecornu warns of the risks linked to the “ultra-left” and “delinquency”
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned on Friday of a persistent risk of violence, saying that “the level of threat remained high”. Traveling to Limoges, in Haute-Vienne, the head of government particularly singled out “the ultra-left”, but also “delinquency”, which could take advantage of the gatherings to commit new looting. “Vigilance is also required with delinquency because it takes advantage of these disorders (...) to recreate more confusion and take advantage of it to steal,” he declared.
After the excesses of October 17, the head of government nevertheless assured that the authorities had learned the lessons of this previous day of tensions. According to him, this “feedback” should make it possible to adjust the security system, particularly in “the way in which the forces will be used” on Saturday.
Emmanuel Macron promises an overhaul of Parcoursup but high school students keep up the pressure
After more than a month of high school protests, Emmanuel Macron tried on Friday to ease tensions by receiving for the first time at the Elysée around twenty representatives of high school organizations. For two and a half hours, discussions focused in particular on the future of Parcoursup, learning conditions and the renovation of educational establishments. The Head of State recognized the need for an “in-depth overhaul of Parcoursup”, while his entourage announced the government's first commitments on Monday, after a meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
But this openness is not enough to convince high school organizations, which are calling in particular for the removal of the orientation platform. If some representatives speak of “a breach” in the position of the executive, others call for maintaining the “arm wrestling” to obtain concrete measures. The mobilization must therefore continue.
Welcome to this new Live
Hello everyone. Once again, the 20 Minutes editorial team is mobilizing to give you all the information on the consequences of urban violence alongside the demonstrations against the high cost of living.
France is preparing for a new day of mobilization this Saturday, in a climate of strong tensions after the violence and looting last weekend. A major security system is planned in several cities, notably in Paris, where demonstrations and disruptions are expected. In Orléans, a counter-demonstration must also be held on the sidelines of the National Rally congress.
France is preparing for another Saturday under high tension. After the violence and looting of October 17, businesses, museums and cultural establishments anticipate closures. In Paris, the authorities have taken preventive measures and transport will be disrupted. In Orléans, a major counter-demonstration is expected on the sidelines of the RN congress with 20,000 to 30,000 participants planned by the prefecture.
Nearly 70,000 police officers and gendarmes are mobilized throughout France this Saturday. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced exceptional security measures. CRS, mobile gendarmes and elite units will be engaged to prevent further violence and looting.
Bans on demonstrations have provoked a confrontation between government and unions. After Emmanuel Macron's decision to restrict gatherings, several organizations denounced an attack on the freedom to demonstrate. In Marseille, the prefecture reversed its general ban on Friday by authorizing a union procession at 2 p.m. In Paris, a demonstration is authorized between Porte d'Italie and Porte de Vincennes, while other gatherings remain prohibited.
