France Bans Protests as Macron Orders Police Surge

French authorities imposed protest bans and restrictions on Thursday, Oct. 22, as President Emmanuel Macron said demonstrations by groups he called “illegitimate” would be banned and union marches could be diverted to protect businesses. In Lyon, officials prohibited every protest planned for Saturday. In Paris, authorities barred a student demonstration and confined a Saturday march to a route that won’t enter the city centre. Prefects will decide which gatherings can proceed and where.

“The priority is a return to calm,” Macron said. He announced he would chair a defence council meeting with key ministers on Friday to decide “the next steps” for demonstrations called for Saturday and afterward. His general recommendation, he said, was that there should be no demonstrations. Trade union organisations could receive alternative routes, while authorities would ban gatherings by other groups “wherever possible.”

Permission, Routes, and Bans

The Paris Police Prefecture banned Thursday demonstrations in key parts of the city until 8 p.m. (18:00 GMT). The restricted areas included locations near the Élysée Palace, both houses of parliament, main train stations and downtown sites where looting had occurred. A police source told AFP the ban was necessary because organisers showed an “inability to prevent violence and vandalism.”

Authorities also prohibited Thursday protests in Lyon, Lille and Grenoble. Lyon’s Rhône prefecture barred Saturday demonstrations “in light of the mobilisation that is circulating and in view of the events of 17 October.” Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre and Toulon banned protests in their city centres; similar restrictions were also announced in Toulon, Rouen and Grenoble.

Student leader Coppelia Moreau said authorities were trying to separate “‘good’ and ‘bad’ protesters.” “What we are seeing is a government that doesn’t want any demonstrations at all. That goes against the right to demonstrate,” she said. Lawyers sought a court injunction against the student-protest ban. Benjamin Ball, who runs an online map of planned demonstrations, rejected the restrictions on Saturday’s march: “We won’t sign off on it.” The Yellow Vest movement and unions organising cost-of-living rallies objected too.

More than half a million people gathered across France on Saturday, Oct. 17, over rising living costs and school conditions. The BBC estimated around 550,000 participants, while French authorities cited by The Independent put the number above 500,000. Students, unions, the gilets jaunes or Yellow Vest movement, and other groups joined the demonstrations. Marches in several major cities, including Paris, stayed largely peaceful, even as riots, looting and destruction took place.

The Grievances Beneath the Crackdown

According to The Independent, demonstrations began in September at a high school in Creteil, southeast of Paris, over staff shortages. Class strikes, blockades and protests soon spread to Paris suburbs, smaller towns and other parts of the country. Students pointed to underfunded schools, dilapidated facilities and too few staff, particularly in lower-income neighbourhoods.

Students also described classrooms that became too hot during summer heat waves and too cold in winter. They said school days often ran from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and called the university entrance system complex and unfair. The Independent reported that damage or attacks on staff forced hundreds of schools to close. French media showed videos of rats, collapsed ceilings, leaks and broken furniture. The latest PISA report, which evaluates students worldwide, recorded plunging scores in reading comprehension and mathematics.

The protests grew to include opposition to the cost of living and what participants called a deteriorating social welfare system. The General Confederation of Labour (CGT), one of France’s largest unions, called for lower prices and higher pensions and wages. Union representatives met Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday, but said they left without concrete proposals. They then backed another day of action scheduled for Nov. 5, urging public- and private-sector employees to take part.

Police Power and Political Blame

Macron blamed far-left groups for the violence, calling it “political and even seditious acts organised by far-left groups that aim to bring down the Republic.” He said he wouldn’t declare a state of emergency. Lecornu promised a “massive” police deployment for the weekend, and Interior Minister Jean-Didier Berger said law enforcement numbers would rise 20% from the previous weekend.

The previous weekend, looters hit 200 to 300 shops in Lyon and burned the city’s tourism office, which Mayor Grégory Doucet called “a tragedy.” In Paris, police fired tear gas and used a water cannon as rioters threw stones and fireworks. Police and school staff also came under attack from powerful fireworks and other projectiles. According to the BBC and Al Jazeera, authorities had arrested at least 2,500 people since the disorder began. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said Wednesday that 174 people had been jailed and more than 900 were facing prosecution.

Police use of force against student demonstrations drew criticism after a tear-gas grenade shattered a 14-year-old’s jaw and many of his teeth, while a 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a police stun grenade. Other adolescents suffered life-changing injuries attributed to police weapons. The government acknowledged that police had lost control during the previous weekend’s violence. Now it has barred some demonstrations, restricted others and promised more officers on the streets.