{"id":3564,"date":"2026-10-31T10:03:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T05:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3564"},"modified":"2026-10-31T10:03:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T05:03:47","slug":"france-braces-for-fresh-unrest-government-vows-tough-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3564","title":{"rendered":"France braces for fresh unrest, government vows tough response"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

France will deploy a 70,000-strong police presence to contain a widely \u200bexpected bout of fresh unrest on Saturday in the latest nationwide protests driven by anger over living costs, \u200cpublic services and President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s government.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The nationwide demonstrations, which fall on Halloween, come two weeks after riots and looting caught security forces off guard, leaving damaged shops, public buildings and businesses in cities across France.<\/p>\n

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has vowed not to let a repeat happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is \u200bon deck to ensure an extremely firm response to any trouble,\u201d Nunez told a news conference earlier this week as \u200bhe set out details of security arrangements for a day he described as carrying \u201ca very high \u2060risk\u201d of unrest.<\/p>\n

Authorities are also alert to the possibility that rioters could use Halloween masks to conceal their identities. Nunez noted \u200bthat laws already allow police to ban face coverings when public order is at risk.<\/p>\n

The US Embassy advised travellers to avoid areas \u200bwhere demonstrations or large gatherings are planned.<\/p>\n

The protests gathered pace in late September as Macron\u2019s minority government launched 2027 budget talks.<\/p>\n

Facing public debt approaching 120% of economic output and rising borrowing costs<\/a>, the government is under pressure to rein in spending, narrowing its room for manoeuvre.<\/p>\n

Students angry at the \u200bdilapidated state of many schools, crowded classes and a university admissions system widely seen as unfair have been joined by trade \u200bunions and a re-emergent \u201cYellow Vest\u201d movement demanding action on the cost of living.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Protests spread across Europe<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The protests have inspired youth-led protests across Europe, with \u200cdemonstrations planned \u2060in more than 30 German cities<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The French government\u2019s promises to reform education<\/a> and ease fuel costs<\/a> have failed to calm discontent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was little, I was told young people were the future,\u201d said Aaron Berthier de Grandry, a 15-year-old high school student in the Paris suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne who plans to join his third consecutive weekend of protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if we, as the future of France, lack \u200bresources, that means France will \u200bend up collapsing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unrest has \u2060handed a political boost<\/a> to far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who leads opinion polls ahead of April\u2019s presidential election, while potential centrist successors to Macron remain divided<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The troubles are the latest blow to an economy \u200bwhich, data on Friday showed, was already shrinking<\/a> in the third quarter.<\/p>\n

The Chamber of Commerce estimates \u200blosses to retailers<\/a> exceed \u20ac1 \u2060billion ($1.1 billion). Other estimates put the total at double when including uninsured damage and lost revenue.<\/p>\n

Along Paris\u2019 main shopping boulevards, early Christmas lights glow around boarded-up windows and security grilles.<\/p>\n

Among the shops targeted in previous unrest were outlets belonging to luxury brands including Hermes, Louis \u2060Vuitton \u200band Burberry.<\/p>\n

The government is pushing ahead with a controversial law<\/a> making rioters liable to \u200bpay up to \u20ac10,000 ($11,000) for damage caused either by themselves or by groups they are deemed to be part of.<\/p>\n

Rights groups and some lawyers say the measure \u200brisks undermining the right to peaceful protest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

France will deploy a 70,000-strong police presence to contain a widely \u200bexpected bout of fresh unrest on Saturday in the latest nationwide protests driven by anger over living costs, \u200cpublic services and President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s government. The nationwide demonstrations, which fall on Halloween, come two weeks after riots and looting caught security forces off guard, leaving damaged shops, public buildings and businesses in cities across France. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has vowed not to let a repeat happen. \u201cEveryone is \u200bon deck to ensure an extremely firm response to any…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3564\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}