France deployed about 70,000 police officers nationwide ahead of demonstrations planned for Saturday, October 31, as authorities warned of possible unrest and unions challenged restrictions on where protesters could gather, Euronews reported.
Trade unions, students and yellow vest protesters were preparing for a third consecutive weekend of marches over living costs and school conditions. Government measures presented earlier that week to address student grievances had failed to satisfy unions.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said demonstrations would be allowed only on city outskirts, not in city centres. Major unions said they would pursue avenues of appeal against the broad ban, arguing that it disproportionately restricted a fundamental democratic freedom.
In Paris, the march was routed from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton along the capital’s eastern edge. The Council of State overturned a lower administrative court decision allowing a route between Bastille and Nation. Police also imposed curfews for Saturday and Sunday nights in districts affected by unrest on October 17.
Officials cited violence and looting during the October 17 protests as grounds for heightened security. Nuñez also warned that Halloween could provide cover for prohibited gatherings and that unrest might continue into the night. Human rights groups, meanwhile, have accused French police of excessive force against demonstrators.
The movement began in mid-September with protests over school conditions in the Paris suburbs, then spread nationwide and drew support from unions and political groups. Its demands widened to include the cost-of-living crisis and rising fuel prices.