Overnight curfews in violence-hit areas of France’s largest cities have brought a measure of calm after the country’s worst unrest in years, the Government has said, although further protests are planned for the weekend.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said targeted restrictions had helped ease tensions and could be extended into the week where necessary. “The targeted curfews have contributed to the calm of last night,” he said in a post on X.
Police cleared and secured Paris’s Place de la Republique during the night, while a helicopter monitored the area. In Lille, officers patrolled the city centre and checked people’s identities under a curfew applying only to minors.
Marseille mayor Benoit Payan said curfews for under-18s would begin on Tuesday night in commercial districts worst affected by the weekend’s riots.
The measures followed violence in Paris, Marseille and Lyon, where rioters and looters moved into city centres after demonstrations. The Government has acknowledged shortcomings in its response and promised to learn lessons from the unrest.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said 149 people arrested at the weekend were being held in detention awaiting trial. In a separate television appearance, he said about 2,500 people remained in custody for questioning.
The demonstrations began with high-school pupil strikes and protests over falling standards and deteriorating school buildings, but have widened into anger over rising prices and concerns that health, housing and welfare needs are no longer being met.
The relative calm has given the Government a brief respite as it seeks to restore order and refocus political attention on passing a budget bill. Lecornu has invited parties from both the Government and opposition to consultations on Thursday.
The crisis has also heightened political uncertainty six months before a presidential election, with opinion polls showing candidates from the populist left and right leading the field. French Government borrowing costs rose further on Tuesday, with the yield on ten-year debt reaching its highest level in 24 years amid concerns about further protests.
Further protests planned across France
France’s main student union, UNEF, has pledged to continue demonstrations next Saturday in an effort to pressure President Emmanuel Macron and his Government to address what pupils and students describe as a broken and under-financed education system.
Groups identifying themselves as the Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vests, have separately called for scattered protests over spiralling fuel costs. The movement emerged during Mr Macron’s first term over plans to increase petrol taxes, before months of road blockades and street violence ended after the Government introduced financial measures.
France’s main labour unions, including the CGT, have not joined the calls for Saturday’s demonstrations. Lecornu said on Monday: “There were things that went well, and things that were screwed up.” He added: “My determination to restore order is absolute.”
