France will deploy 70,000 police across the country on Saturday to confront new protests that have emerged following severe urban violence last week. These protests initially began with high school student demonstrations regarding educational conditions and gradually evolved into broader protests concerning the rising cost of living.
Interior Minister's Report
Laurent Nunez, France's Interior Minister, announced this deployment at a press conference in Paris and warned that calls for violence and looting are spreading on social media. This week, about 20 percent more security forces will be deployed compared to last week, as questions have been raised about police preparedness prior to last week's violence.
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Negotiations with Student Representatives
Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, met with representatives of high school students on Friday. Following these negotiations, students called for protests to continue until the government presents specific proposals. The government has attempted to distinguish the legitimate demands of protesters from the looting and fires that occurred last Saturday. Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of Justice, announced that courts have so far imprisoned 217 people for these incidents, half of whom are first-time offenders.
Macron also called for "maximum severity" in response to the violence and accused "far-left" groups of attempting to "overthrow the Republic." Authorities have imposed restrictions on protests in several cities to maintain security. In Orléans, where Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right nationalist party, is holding a party congress, 20,000 to 30,000 anti-protest demonstrators are expected to attend, but they will be barred from entering the city center.
In Paris, the police have canceled the union march permit between Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation and proposed an alternative route, but unions are determined to continue the march along the original path. The Louvre Museum and other famous museums will also be closed on Saturday, and the Art Basel exhibition will come to an end.
Amnesty International has protested what it describes as a "drift towards authoritarianism" and deemed these measures as "endangering the right to peaceful protest." Additionally, Human Rights Watch has expressed concern over reports of severe injuries to children caused by crowd control weapons during recent protests.
This unrest occurs six months before elections to replace Macron. A Harris Interactive poll for M6/RTL conducted after the violence showed Le Pen leading with 33 to 35 percent in the first round and is expected to face Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left leader, in the second round, winning with around 70 percent.
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