France bans protests in Paris, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble as Macron meets security chiefs
Ahead of a major demonstration on Saturday, authorities banned rallies around the Elysee and parliament while Macron met intelligence services and ministers.
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French authorities banned demonstrations in several cities on Thursday following the country's most violent unrest in years. In Paris, a ban was in force until 8 p.m. in a zone covering the Elysee presidential palace, both houses of parliament, the main train stations and downtown areas hit by looting, the police prefecture said, citing the risk of street violence. Planned protests in Lyon, Lille and Grenoble were also banned. Night curfews remain in place in some areas.
President Emmanuel Macron met intelligence services, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and other ministers on Thursday morning to review what went wrong and prepare for upcoming protests. According to Reuters, he had earlier ordered a review of apparent failures in intelligence gathering and police preparedness. Lecornu said a "massive" security operation was planned for Saturday's large demonstration, which "yellow vest" activists are expected to join.
Unions said their meeting with Lecornu on Wednesday produced no concrete proposals and are focusing on a major day of action on Nov. 5. High school and university student groups say they will keep mobilising even though the autumn school break has begun. The protests started last month at a high school in Creteil over staff shortages and has grown into nationwide protests over living costs.