Security high as France braces for new protests
PARIS—France on Saturday deployed some 70,000 police as well as helicopters and armored vehicles in major cities ahead of protests planned that day, in a massive effort to prevent a repeat of the violence and looting during nationwide demonstrations last weekend.
Shops and restaurants in central Paris were boarded up, the world-famous Louvre and Musee d’Orsay were closed and a curfew was imposed in parts of the French capital.
Weeks of protests by high school students over learning conditions had sparked a movement that has since spread nationwide, fueled by broader anger over the rising cost of living.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu warned late on Friday that the threat of violence “remains high.”
The protests have come at a critical moment for France six months ahead of elections to replace President Emmanuel Macron—with polls showing far-right candidate Marine Le Pen on track to win the first and second rounds of presidential voting and suggesting her position has been strengthened by the latest events.
Far-right candidate
Adding to tensions, Le Pen is due at the weekend to host her National Rally (RN) party congress in the city of Orleans south of Paris, with thousands of supporters expected and authorities fearing clashes as an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 counterprotesters also head to the city.
“The atmosphere is truly strange for a Saturday morning; everything is closed, and some businesses are barricaded. We really hope the security measures will prevent the kind of violence we saw last week,” said Stephane Gentil, an Orleans resident out for a bike ride.
Authorities have stepped up security measures and imposed restrictions on certain areas from protests.
But Amnesty International denounced what it called “a slide toward authoritarian practice,” saying the measures were “jeopardizing the right to demonstrate peacefully.”
