France has placed 70,000 police officers on duty across the country for a new round of demonstrations on Saturday, as shops in central Paris boarded up their windows and several cities moved to ban public gatherings outright. The protests, now in their fourth week, began as a complaint about conditions in schools in the French suburbs and have since drawn in a much wider group of discontented citizens, according to VG.
In Paris, armoured vehicles from the military police could be heard well before they came into view on Saturday morning, moving in a convoy of roughly fifty down the streets toward the Bastille monument. The square and its surroundings were the focal point of last weekend's unrest but have been closed at short notice as a gathering point for demonstrators this Saturday. Hours before the protest was due to begin, it remained unclear whether participants would respect the ban.
Why it matters
What started as a local dispute over schooling has grown into a broader expression of public anger, and the scale of the security response reflects how seriously the government is treating it. Last weekend's events turned into rioting, looting, vandalism and violent clashes, and businesses are preparing on the assumption that trouble could return. The timing also matters politically: France is heading toward a presidential election in which Emmanuel Macron's ten years in office will end, and the unrest is already being pulled into that contest.
A mayor becomes a symbol
One of the figures who has come to represent the movement is Bally Bagayoko, 53, the mayor of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris. Photographs of him in a suit and tie, standing as a human barrier between demonstrating students and riot police, have circulated widely. Speaking to VG, he described a mobilisation that keeps expanding and said the mood was building toward revolution.
Bagayoko said he experienced the force of the police response himself, telling VG he was hit with tear gas and pushed with an officer's shield, and that the young people behind him were not struck when he intervened. Failing to step in, he argued, would have amounted to neglect and a kind of cowardice.
He rejected the suggestion, made by the far right, that the protests are being exploited, and instead linked the movement to a desire for a change of power in 2027. Bagayoko, a politician for the left-wing party La France Insoumise, said the aim is a left that can win the presidential election, replace the president and, naturally, the government as well.
The far-right party, whose candidate Marine Le Pen is among the favourites to take over leadership of the country of 69 million people, argues the protests show the need for a much tougher line on crime.
Boarded windows and closed museums
Around the Bastille monument on Saturday morning, VG reported long lines of police vehicles and officers in black helmets, body armour and limb protection gathered in groups as they prepared. Most shops in the area where protests are expected have fixed plywood panels over their glass fronts, and many Paris businesses are staying shut despite the loss of takings.
Outside a Levi's store a short walk from the square, two shop assistants smoked while waiting to open. The shop was among several that were robbed during last weekend's disorder. One of the employees told VG that those who loot, are not demonstrators but simply people who join in to take advantage of the chaos.
French police have issued an unusual request to businesses: shop owners should consider hiring private security guards, possibly with dogs, and check their alarm systems and opening hours. Le Monde reported that the advice follows messages on social media calling for looting.
The interior ministry said the 70,000 officers deployed nationwide include elite units normally assigned to counter-terrorism operations and hostage rescue, according to comments from Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported on Friday.
Police and authorities have faced sharp criticism from protesters, who argue they are far too heavy-handed in dealing with young people in particular.
Restrictions vary by city. In Paris, a curfew between 11pm and 6am has been imposed this week in two areas: parts of Place de la République and the district around Châtelet–Les Halles. Authorities in Marseille, Lyon, Montpellier and Nice have gone further and prohibited demonstrations on Saturday.
Visitors to the capital face disruption over the weekend, with a number of museums closed, including the Louvre, the Orsay and the Picasso museum.
The Yellow Vests movement, which has a long record of large demonstrations and at times violent confrontations with French police, is among the organisers of this weekend's protests.
Saturday's turnout and whether demonstrators abide by the bans in Paris and other cities will indicate whether the movement is gaining or losing momentum as the election campaign approaches.
