France is in a high state of readiness before today’s nationwide protests, a week after the country was involved in some of the worst riots in recent decades.
Despite restrictions imposed on gatherings, hundreds of thousands of protesters are expected to gather in Paris and other cities in the country, within a new wave of protests organised by students, trade unions and various anti-government groups.
The Interior Ministry has announced it will hire 70 thousand police officers to strengthen security in French cities. Authorities have come under criticism from opposition parties, which have accused them of not predicting the extent of the October 17th riots.
We will not allow anything left untreated, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.
We will be uncommunicationed with vandals, looters and all those who commit acts of violence, he added, suggesting that, in addition to planned protests, calls for violence by extreme leftist groups have been observed on social networks.
After accelerated court hearings, hundreds have been sentenced to prison for vandalism, arson, and robbery.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with representatives of high school students Friday on the eve of protests.
Representatives said Macro had given clear pledges, but also called on students to continue mobilization.
Earlier this week, Macron decreed that only the protests organised by the known union would be allowed on Saturday. Meanwhile, several important cities, including Lyons, Nice and Montpellier, have announced general assembly bans.
However, these measures do not appear to have stopped organisers. Hundreds of protests, large and small, are planned throughout France.
After a week during which several cities, including areas of the capital, have been under partial curfew, measures to protest vary from city to city. In Marseilles, for example, authorities quickly withdrew an order banning all protests, allowing a march organised by trade unions to develop.
In Paris, a march organised by the student union and supported by workers’ groups has been forced to follow an route that does not cross the city center.
Meanwhile, authorities and businesses are preparing for the possibility of new riots.
The Louvre Museum, the Orsay Museum and the Picasso Museum will stay closed on Saturday.
Paris Saint-Germainin’s planned match has shifted for Monday, while some businesses have covered their windowbooks to protect from possible plunder.
Protests are expected to join members of the yellow vest movement, which has recovered. This movement, with support from both the left and the right, organised major and divisive protests during the first term of Macron.
Source Layer: Dukeagini