France Expands Curfews After Weekend Riots and Looting

Partial curfews across several French cities helped restore calm overnight after a weekend of violent demonstrations, looting and attacks on public buildings, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday, October 20. The government introduced localized movement restrictions in Paris and other urban areas to contain the unrest while allowing authorities to impose additional measures where necessary.

French officials said more than 2,500 people had been arrested since the violence began, while nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured. The government is also reviewing security preparations after acknowledging that authorities underestimated the scale of the demonstrations.

In a post on X, Lecornu said decisions about further restrictions would be made "on the ground" by regional authorities and local mayors, depending on local conditions.

The prime minister had previously declared himself "fully resolved to restore public order" and called for "local and partial" curfews where necessary. He said there was "no question" of imposing restrictions across entire cities at this stage.

His office announced overnight restrictions from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday in four northern cities, including Lille. In Paris, police restricted access to Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district from 11 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m.

Tuesday. The orders prohibited gatherings and demonstrations in the designated areas.

Lecornu said authorities could consider a state of emergency, stating "we could do so" if circumstances required it. However, he considered partial curfews "more appropriate" under the current conditions.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged serious shortcomings in the government's response to the unrest. He admitted there had been a "lack of anticipation" in security planning and that police numbers were sometimes insufficient to contain violent groups.

Nuñez said intelligence assessments had anticipated approximately 200,000 demonstrators nationwide, but attendance exceeded 500,000. Peaceful gatherings subsequently deteriorated as violent groups and looters joined the unrest.

The minister offered his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, saying he felt "responsible for everything that happened". Macron rejected the resignation and instructed him to "take all necessary steps to ensure transparency over planning and intelligence failures".

Nuñez also defended the conduct of individual officers while acknowledging the scale of the security breakdown. "You couldn't look shopkeepers in the eye after hundreds of shops had been looted and say we hadn't lost control," he told French radio.

He added that the responsibility of "rioters, looters and ultra-left militants" should not be overlooked. Nuñez said 60,000 police officers and other security personnel had been deployed nationwide, but the force was insufficient to contain organized violence in major cities, including Paris, Marseille and Lyon.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin also identified intelligence failures as a major weakness in the response. "There's no good policing without good intelligence," he said, adding that approximately "about 80%" of those arrested were facing prosecution.

According to figures reported by Libération, authorities had arrested 2,513 people and imprisoned 67 in connection with the violence. Approximately 70% of those arrested were adults, while nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes had sustained injuries.

Macron's office said Nuñez had been instructed to begin "promptly implementing new operational methods for security forces to use on the ground in combating rioters". The president also demanded a comprehensive review of security arrangements following the weekend's disorder.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire criticized the state's handling of the unrest after approximately 30 shops were targeted in the capital on Sunday. Authorities also reported another 350 arrests overnight.

"Maintaining public order is the responsibility of the state. It is the state that was at fault this weekend," Grégoire said. He warned that the demonstrations could continue because the movement was expanding and lacked a clear political path toward resolution.

"We have a social movement that is spreading, and no political prospect for a constructive way out. So the protests will continue," the Paris mayor said.

Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan said the unrest had undermined not only democratic institutions but also "the very foundations of the Republic". He described the situation as "almost insurrectional" and criticized the government's response as "petty political manoeuvring".

The protests also disrupted cultural institutions. Demonstrators blocked entrances to the Louvre Museum on Monday to support the nationwide high school student movement and denounce "police repression". The museum could not open at its scheduled time.

A leaflet displayed outside the museum declared, "We are proud to announce that we are blocking the world's largest museum."

France's digital minister, Anne Le Henanff, separately urged online resale platforms to remove listings for "stolen items". Representatives of several companies, including Vinted, eBay, Amazon, Leboncoin, Meta and TikTok, were invited to discuss the issue.

The demonstrations began last month with high school students demanding better educational conditions but expanded to include concerns about living costs and other economic pressures. Students, teachers, parents, trade unions and workers participated in the protests.

In a televised address on Sunday, Macron condemned what he called "unbridled" violence. Meanwhile, French unions announced plans for another round of strikes and rallies on November 5, as authorities continued assessing the security measures needed to prevent further unrest.