France prepares for a day of protests by deploying 70,000 police officers and gendarmes across the country, as French opposition parties file an emergency appeal against restrictions on demonstrations.
The Ecologists, France Unbowed (LFI), the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, and several other political groups filed a joint challenge on Friday with the Council of State, the daily Le Parisien newspaper reported.
The parties challenged French President Emmanuel Macron’s bans on demonstrations organized by groups he considers illegitimate and march route changes without individual assessments.
Macron previously said that protests called by “individuals or groups with no legitimate authority” would be banned.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday that 70,000 officers would be deployed nationwide to maintain order during Saturday’s protests. “We are ready tomorrow to be extremely firm and not tolerate anything,” he added.
Nunez said security forces would include elite units usually used in counterterrorism operations and hostage rescues, supported by helicopters, armored vehicles, and water cannons.
The minister also said authorities had identified online calls for looting and attacks on public buildings, including those made by “ultra-left” groups.
‘Continue to mobilize’
Macron met with representatives of high school students on Friday. Following the meeting, Nathanael Combary, head of Renouveau Lycéen, said, “We are calling for continued mobilization.”
“What we want is for promises to be backed by concrete results. We want to see real change in our high schools,” said Soumaya Sarre, an 18-year-old student and a leading figure in the Federation of High School Students.
Between 550,000 and 800,000 protesters took part in rallies across France. According to a territorial intelligence assessment cited by Le Parisien, an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 people are expected to demonstrate on Saturday.
In Paris, unions rejected a police proposal to move Saturday’s protest from the previously agreed Bastille–Nation route to a route between Porte de Vincennes and Porte d’Italie, arguing that they could not ensure security along the alternative route.
Restrictions remain in place in several French cities, including Limoges, where a curfew is set to remain in effect until Monday. Other restrictions apply to central areas of Lyon, as well as Besancon, Clermont-Ferrand, and Laval. In Marseille, authorities approved a union-organized march as an exception to broader restrictions.
Several of Paris’s best-known cultural institutions, including the Louvre, said they would close on Saturday. Some sporting events were also canceled.
The demonstrations in France began last month with high school students protesting against teacher shortages and dilapidated facilities. The movement subsequently expanded to include other groups protesting the high cost of living and France’s economic challenges.
More than 6,500 protesters have been arrested in France, most of them minors.
The demonstrations are part of a broader wave of unrest across Europe, with protests also happening in Belgium, Albania, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Ireland, Serbia, and Germany.
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