France’s unrest deepens as Le Pen launches campaign and Macron bans unauthorised protests
Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campaign in Orléans on 26 October, pledging to restore law and order as France’s nationwide protests continued, POLITICO. eu reported. Earlier, on 21 October, President Emmanuel Macron announced a ban on protests by groups he said lacked legitimate authority, according to Fox News.
The announcement followed a series of government actions, including a condemnation of foreign remarks (CNBC, 20 October), a meeting with intelligence chiefs and a 20 % increase in security personnel for upcoming demonstrations (France 24, 18 October), the extension of overnight curfews in several cities and a large police deployment (CBS News, 16 October), and the empowerment of mayors to impose partial curfews (BBC, 10 October). The unrest began on 17 October when tens of thousands of students and other demonstrators gathered in cities across France, prompting police to deploy tear gas and arrest hundreds (CNN, 1; BBC, 2; DW, 3; CNN, 4). Subsequent days saw mass protests involving up to half a million participants, widespread looting, property damage and injuries to police and firefighters, leading to further arrests and calls for emergency measures (LBC, 5; BBC, 6; NBC News, 7; Reuters, 19).