France’s central government asked some local authorities on Monday to impose curfews, as it came under pressure over security failures after a weekend of riots and looting that grew out of nationwide anti-government protests.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ruled out a blanket curfew in Paris but did not rule out a state of emergency. He said partial, localised curfews were the more appropriate step for now, and he gave no details on where they would apply or when.
The violence follows weeks of student demonstrations. It has shaken France six months before its next presidential election, and it has put a weak economy and surging national debt back at the center of the political fight.
A Prime Minister Promises Order
“My determination to restore order is absolute,” Lecornu told reporters on Monday.
Local officials did not wait for Paris to act. Ariel Weil, the Socialist mayor of central Paris, told BFM TV he favoured a curfew. Marseille went further on its own and banned gatherings and demonstrations. Since Lecornu chose localised measures over one national order, rules can differ from one city to the next.
The unions are not backing down. French unions called for a new round of strikes and rallies on November 5, which means the dispute will outlast the weekend’s clashes.
Minister Blames the Far Left
Lecornu pointed at far-left groups for what he described as some of the worst unrest France has seen in years. “There is, after all, a far-left movement that wants to cause” serious unrest in the country in the run-up to the presidential election, he said, adding, “we can’t put it any more strongly.”
The challenge came quickly. Jean-Luc Melenchon, the hard-left presidential candidate, urged him on X to provide evidence. “Otherwise, he should apologise, keep quiet and stop fanning the flames of unrest,” he wrote.
The exchange shows how fast the riots turned into campaign material. With the election six months away, every claim about who started the violence now carries a political price.
Almost 3,000 Shops Hit
The Federation of Trade and Retail said almost 3,000 shops were affected over the weekend. The group said the retail sector “once again” finds itself “on the front line, at a time when it is already weakened by a succession of crises.”
It described the damage in human terms. “Behind every ransacked shop are business owners, employees and families who have seen years of work and effort wiped out in a matter of hours,” the federation said. It asked the government for social security and tax relief for affected businesses.
Lecornu said the government would provide furlough measures from Tuesday. He did not say how many workers or businesses would qualify.
In Marseille, Gerard Nouchi, who manages two clothing stores, stood in front of a boarded-up shopfront and said there were not enough police to stop the looters. “They trashed everything, broke things, insulted us,” Nouchi said. “It was like a real tornado.”
The government also moved against the resale of stolen goods. Junior Digital Minister Anne Le Hénanff wrote on X that online platforms selling looted items were ordered to take down the announcements and to cooperate in prosecuting resellers.
Arrests, Injuries and One Death
The Interior Ministry reported that some 2,400 people were arrested. One protester died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday. Nearly 1,000 officers were injured.
Those numbers describe a weekend in which police were outnumbered at the worst moments. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France Inter radio that France deployed 60,000 police and other security forces on Saturday. He acknowledged that the deployment was not enough to control violent crowds.
The scale is easier to grasp in proportion. Nearly 1,000 injured officers would equal about one for every 60 of those 60,000 deployed, if all of them were hurt on Saturday. The 2,400 arrests come close to the number of shops reported affected, almost 3,000, though the reports do not say how the two figures connect.
Mayors Warn Cities Were “Left Without Protection”
The mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon, all from the centre-left, wrote a joint op-ed in the newspaper Liberation. They said they were used to demonstrations and protests.
“But on Saturday … for the first time, we had the feeling that whole sections of our cities had been left without protection,” they wrote.
Coming from three city halls that handle street protests regularly, the statement puts the security question squarely in front of the government. The criticism is aimed at the protection of city streets.
Macron Rejects His Interior Minister’s Resignation
Pressure on the government grew after Macron’s office said on Monday that the president had turned down Nunez’s offer to resign. Macron told him instead to end the barricades and the looting, and to be open about what Macron called “intelligence and foresight failings.”
The phrase is a public admission from the president’s office that intelligence and planning fell short before Saturday arrived. Nunez stays in his post and now carries both the response and the transparency Macron asked for.
Nunez said Tuesday evening’s Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona would go ahead as planned.
Markets Stay Calm, With a Warning Attached
French assets underperformed broader European markets on Monday. The moves were more contained than at some other moments of recent political friction.
Investors have a reason to keep watching. Tensions inside Macron’s fragile government over the apparent security shortcomings come while the government needs to pass a budget bill to rein in its finances. A government that spends its political energy on riots has less to spend on a budget vote, and that could further unsettle investors.
The Grievances Behind the Protests
The reported causes are not new, and several of them overlap. Protesters pointed to declining and dysfunctional public services, the cost of living and rising fuel prices. The government, for its part, faces a weak economy and surging debt, and it needs a budget bill to rein in its finances. Those pressures pull in opposite directions: citizens want more spending on services and lower prices, while the budget calls for restraint.
School Holidays Start, Blockades Continue
The start of school holidays on Monday may bring some relief. Students were still staging gatherings and blockades in some places on Monday, including at the Louvre gallery and at Sciences Po university in central Paris.
At the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. Many of them said they were protesting declining and dysfunctional public services. The photographs from Paris carried a more specific label, describing a national day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices.
Luxury Boutiques and Fan Stores Damaged
On Monday, most shops at the Place Vendome in Paris, home to luxury hotels and boutiques, were shuttered and surrounded by security guards. The front door of a Dior boutique was smashed. Windows at other luxury brand stores in central Paris, including Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Gucci, were damaged.
Marseille’s losses were closer to the street. Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille said its official store on the city’s historic main avenue had been looted. In central France, a town hall was torched.
Other European Countries Saw Protests Too
Cost-of-living concerns also drove weekend protests in other European countries, including Italy, Belgium and Albania. European governments have advised citizens travelling to France to avoid large crowds and to take care.
If you are planning a trip to France this week, that means staying away from demonstrations and from city centres where gatherings are banned, as Marseille has done. Check local announcements for curfews before you go out in the evening, since the rules may differ by city.
Macron Leaves for the Gulf
As France cleaned its streets, Macron arrived in Kuwait for a Gulf trip aimed at securing additional petrol and diesel supplies to bring down pump prices. Rising fuel prices were one of the grievances that sent people into the streets, so the trip speaks to the same anger, though it also means the president is abroad while his government deals with the aftermath.
What to Watch Next
Several dates and decisions will show whether the unrest fades or returns. Lecornu has not ruled out a state of emergency, and he has not said which areas will get curfews. Furlough measures begin Tuesday. The PSG and Barcelona match is set for Tuesday evening. Unions have set November 5 for another round of strikes and rallies. Melenchon’s demand that Lecornu back up his far-left claim or apologise also remains open.
For now, a country six months from choosing a president has 2,400 people in custody, thousands of damaged shops, a government under pressure over what it called intelligence failings, and a calendar full of dates on which the protests could start again.
