France will deploy additional police and military personnel in a major security operation ahead of further protests scheduled for Saturday, the government has announced, acknowledging failures in its response to last weekend’s violence.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday that the deployment would be “massive”, as authorities sought to restore order following rioting and looting in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities on October 17.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told parliament that military personnel would support police operations. The government also pledged to revise its security tactics after facing widespread criticism that city centres had been left vulnerable during the unrest.
Targeted Curfews Help Restore Calm
Lecornu framed the crisis as a choice “between violence and the Republic” and blamed far-left groups for the unrest. Those groups, in turn, have accused the government of overlooking public anger over rising living costs and deteriorating public services.
PTI’s Gohar Says Political Differences Must Not Undermine Anti-Terrorism Efforts
The scale of the violence and the apparent difficulties faced by police in containing it have shocked France, intensifying political tensions ahead of next year’s presidential election. Candidates from both the far right and the hard left have been performing strongly in opinion polls.
A relatively calm night followed targeted curfews imposed in several affected areas. Authorities said the restrictions had helped restore control. Some curfews, including measures targeting children and teenagers under 18, were extended through Tuesday night, police said.
Lecornu acknowledged shortcomings in the state’s response, citing intelligence failures and overly static police deployments. He also said authorities had made a mistake by failing to cancel planned police leave.
Nuñez apologised for the handling of the crisis, saying: “I deeply regret what happened. I accept my share of responsibility.”
Suspect Arrested Over Limoges Town Hall Fire
French authorities have assigned 200 investigators to identify and track down people involved in the street violence. Parliament is also establishing a commission of inquiry to determine the causes of the unrest.
Police arrested a man on Tuesday suspected of starting a fire that destroyed a historic town hall in Limoges, a city in central France. Officials said the suspect had been on a security watch list and belonged to an ultra-left group.
Sylvain Maillard, a Renaissance lawmaker representing Paris, said some mobile applications had effectively become “a walkie-talkie system for rioters and looters”.
The unrest has also affected businesses and financial markets. French borrowing costs rose further on Tuesday, with the yield on benchmark 10-year government bonds reaching its highest level in 24 years as investors assessed the risks posed by continued instability.
Supermarket chain Carrefour said theft and property damage had cost it tens of millions of euros, describing the situation as unprecedented.
Student and Yellow Vest Protests Planned
France’s main student union, UNEF, has called for further demonstrations on Saturday, pledging to continue its campaign against what it describes as a deteriorating and underfunded education system.
“We carry on,” the union said on social media.
Separately, groups identifying themselves as “Gilets Jaunes”, or Yellow Vests, have called for protests over rising fuel costs.
The Yellow Vest movement emerged in 2018 during President Emmanuel Macron’s first term, initially in opposition to planned increases in petrol taxes. Traffic blockades and demonstrations continued for months before the government made costly concessions.
The movement had been largely inactive in recent years, but the latest calls for protests have raised concerns about a renewed wave of demonstrations at a time when France is struggling with budget pressures.
Italy Faces New Form of Unrest, Minister Says
Unrest also affected several northern Italian cities, including financial hub Milan, over the weekend. Although the violence was less extensive than in France, it prompted concern within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, which was expected to introduce new security measures at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto described the disturbances as a form of “hybrid warfare” involving social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and other online networks.
“The events in Milan and elsewhere in Italy are fundamentally different from those seen in other eras,” Crosetto wrote on X, arguing that Western countries had yet to fully recognise the nature of the threat or respond effectively.
In central Milan, sportswear retailer On and a Levi’s store targeted during the unrest had reopened by Tuesday but remained boarded up. Luxury retailers had also restored merchandise to shop windows after temporarily removing it for security reasons.
Meanwhile, protesters in Albania were expected to take to the streets of Tirana for a seventh consecutive day, continuing demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The unrest across several European countries has heightened concerns that anger over living standards, public services and government policies could fuel further demonstrations amid mounting economic and fiscal pressures.
