France imposes partial curfews to restore order
Paris, FRANCE—France announced partial curfews in Paris and other cities on Monday after weekend demonstrations over soaring prices degenerated into some of the worst street violence in recent years.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu did not rule out imposing a state of emergency after the interior minister said police had “lost control.”
Tourists in Paris had a taste of the disruption on Monday when they found the Louvre closed because of a small group of student protesters, while the US Embassy in Paris urged American citizens to avoid the demonstrations.
Facing accusations that it failed to anticipate and respond to the violence, the government has vowed to reestablish order, while officials scrambled to contain public anger.
The unrest, erupting just six months before France elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, threatened to continue, with organizers calling for a new round of protests next Saturday.
Other countries, too
Authorities said partial curfews would be enforced from Monday evening to Tuesday morning in a number of cities including Paris, Lille and Lyon, to protect businesses.
In the capital, a curfew was ordered from 11 p.m. (2100 GMT), while demonstrations were banned from 8 p.m.
“I’m absolutely determined to restore public order,” Lecornu said. Other European countries have also seen demonstrations over rising prices, with smaller clashes breaking out in Milan and Belgium over the weekend and protests simmering in Spain and Portugal.
Some half a million people turned out across France on Saturday to denounce the surging cost of living, a culmination of four weeks of protests that began with students demanding better conditions at high schools.
What started as peaceful demonstrations descended into violence in many cities, as masked groups attacked law enforcement, broke into public buildings and set some ablaze, looted shops, and set fire to cars, bicycles and scooters.
Listings for ‘stolen goods’
On Monday, France’s digital minister, Anne Le Henanff, urged online resale platforms to remove listings for “stolen items” following Saturday’s looting and summoned representatives of companies.
After the weekend scenes of chaos, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation, but Macron refused to accept it.
More than 2,500 people were arrested and nearly 1,000 members of the security forces injured. Protesters were also hurt, with one demonstrator’s hand blown off by a police crowd control grenade.
Macron acknowledged failures in the government response, which had seen 60,000 law enforcement personnel deployed on Saturday.
Nationwide, more than 2,513 people have been taken into police custody since the weekend, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said. He added that 67 had been jailed and “dozens” of criminal cases opened.
Darmanin also said authorities would use facial recognition on social media to identify perpetrators.
At least 3,000 shops were damaged, with the cost running into hundreds of millions of euros.
