Protests in France: Paris sticks to curfews

The Interior Minister said that the ban on demonstrations in city centers would also be maintained in view of the risks to public order and the risk of property damage to shops. On Saturday it became clear again in Paris and numerous other cities that violent groups had crept into the demonstrations in order to escalate them. Therefore, restrictions on the demonstration routes will be maintained.

Many injured demonstrators and police officers

France-wide demonstrations against high living costs and for better education were accompanied by serious riots just over a week ago. A large police presence prevented riots and damage to the same extent during renewed protests last weekend. Nevertheless, according to the Interior Minister, there was a similarly high willingness to resort to violence; there were 1,435 arrests. More than a hundred cases involved gun possession, Nuñez said. During personal checks, knives, boules balls, glass balls, various weapons and firing tubes for fireworks were seized.

Overall, the day of protest remained “under control,” said Nuñez. Although there were no major incidents, 267 police officers were injured. In the case of numerous attacks, the Interior Minister emphasized that it was even necessary to speak of “attempted homicide”. He also spoke of 150 injured demonstrators, including three seriously injured in Toulouse, Reims and Clermont-Ferrand.

According to various reports, between 410,000 and 800,000 people took to the streets in France again on Saturday against the high cost of living and grievances in the education system. The protests, which had been going on for weeks, had recently gotten increasingly out of control, with vandalism and looting taking place. As a result, night curfews were imposed for some cities.

New protests have already been called for next Saturday. The government is preparing for this with a large contingent of security forces, said Nuñez.

Premier meets student representatives

president Emmanuel Macron became a previously unannounced visit to the port city on Monday morning Marseille expected, where there were serious riots and numerous looting of shops a good week ago. prime minister Sébastien Lecornu wanted to meet with student representatives to discuss their demands for better equipment in high schools and more substitute teachers.