France Deploys 70,000 Police as Protests Grip Nation and Spread Across Europe
Youth-led demonstrations over living costs and education enter their third weekend, prompting significant security measures and impacting neighboring countries.
France is preparing for a third consecutive weekend of widespread protests, deploying 70,000 police and gendarmes amid concerns of potential disorder. The demonstrations, initially sparked by high school students protesting school conditions, have broadened into widespread anger over the rising cost of living and are increasingly impacting other European nations.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez issued a warning of a "very high risk" of unrest, particularly with Halloween falling on a weekend. To mitigate potential violence and looting, Paris police have restricted protest routes, banning marches through the city center and directing demonstrations to follow a single path along the capital's outer boulevards. Authorities also barred entry to the Place de la Republique and Les Halles, areas previously targeted by rioters, during late-night hours. In a separate measure, unaccompanied minors face a 9 p.m. curfew around the Champs-Elysees, although a Paris court recently suspended an earlier curfew on minors, deeming it an infringement of freedom of movement.
President Emmanuel Macron has stated that marches would be kept out of city centers to protect businesses. During the previous protests on October 17, approximately 550,000 people marched, leading to hundreds of shops being looted. Last Saturday saw a larger, though largely peaceful, gathering of 410,000 demonstrators, but police made over 1,300 arrests.
The unrest in France appears to be resonating across Europe. In Germany, a youth initiative named "Gen Z regelt" is organizing protests in about 30 cities, advocating for education, healthcare, climate protection, and an affordable life, while opposing the potential return of military conscription. Online, over 140,000 people have signed up for these events. Berlin police anticipate around 10,000 participants at the Brandenburg Gate, and some shops along the Kurfuerstendamm boulevard have boarded up their windows as a precaution.
In Spain, Catalan police are on high alert following calls for new gatherings on social media platforms like TikTok. Riots in Barcelona last Saturday resulted in approximately 130 arrests, primarily of minors. Italian authorities are also vigilant after clashes occurred in Milan, Turin, and Bologna. Similar calls to protest have circulated on TikTok in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal, indicating a continent-wide wave of youth-led demonstrations driven by similar concerns over economic hardship and social issues.