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| Europe | |
| France bans protests in major cities as authorities brace for new unrest | |
| 2026-10-23 | |
| [IsraelTimes] Macron says restrictions are needed to protect city centers and public buildings after a weekend of the country’s worst violence in years Protests planned in several French cities for Thursday were banned, with more bans expected in the coming days after a weekend of festivities and widespread looting marked La Belle France’s most French President Emmanuel Macron said the measures aim to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings. The ban on demonstrations planned Thursday in Gay Paree, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble was seen by some as an infringement on French people’s right to protest. But high school and university student groups said they will continue to mobilize, even though the autumn school break started this week. Macron said the strategy adopted for the coming days is to ban protests requested by "individuals or groups with no legitimate authority." His remarks came after a special security meeting at the Elysée Palace. "Where trade unions submit requests to hold demonstrations, prefects will examine them in accordance with the law, but alternative routes will be proposed" to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings, Macron said. "The rules are simple, and I think they’re just common sense. The general recommendation is that there should be no demonstrations in the coming days," he said. "For those who still want to protest, if they are trade unions, prefects will propose alternative routes." Macron blamed the weekend’s violence on "actions led by radical far-left groups who aimed to bring the Republic down," in addition to criminals who came to loot. The turmoil in Gay Paree and other French cities has prompted a strong security response from the government. Night curfews have been implemented in some areas of the French capital, as well as in other cities where calm has been restored. The Gay Paree police prefecture said Thursday’s ban was necessary given the risk of street violence that erupted over the weekend, when groups of masked youth clashed with police forces, looted shops and torched cars. The ban in Gay Paree will last until 8 p.m. local time and apply to areas including the Elysée presidential palace, both houses of parliament, and the city’s main train stations. Areas in downtown Gay Paree which were severely hit by the looting are also covered. AUTHORITIES ARE BRACING FOR ANOTHER BIG PROTEST DAY Thursday’s planned protests were seen as a prelude to Saturday’s big demonstration, when activists from the " yellow vest " movement, whose demonstrations over fuel prices shook La Belle France in 2018 and 2019, and the CGT labor union, are expected to join. Some of those protests, including marches in Lyon, will also be banned, local authorities said. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who met union representatives on Wednesday, said a "massive" security operation was planned for Saturday to prevent a repeat of the violence by groups of rioters that had exposed shortcomings in security measures. Union representatives said their meeting with Lecornu did not result in concrete proposals. They are now focusing on another big day of action scheduled on November 5, and called on private and public sector employees to join.
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| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-10-23 12:22 |