Paris – After a weekend of protests, riots and looting, France is looking to head off further unrest, ahead of fresh demonstrations called for Saturday.
Here are some of the measures authorities have ordered:
Curfews
Partial nighttime curfews were imposed in parts of Paris and several other cities on Monday and Tuesday nights, applied to areas where clashes broke out last weekend and shopping zones that had been targeted by looters.
Paris also banned public gatherings on the Champs Elysees, near major public buildings, and near train stations.
Marseille, France’s second-biggest city, has banned unaccompanied minors from central shopping streets every night up to and including Friday.
Meloni announces a new decree and 4 new measures to combat violent riots and looting.
She says that people of foreign background constitute half of the 330 people arrested and detained so far.
The new measures include prison sentences of up to 5 years and fines of €20,000 for participating in violent protests.
Under the new decree:
– Rioters acting in groups of 5 or more face tougher penalties, particularly if they conceal their faces or injure someone.
– Parents will be held financially responsible for damage caused by their underage children.
– Preventive detention powers will be extended to minors.
– An additional 500 soldiers will be deployed to Milan until the end of the year.
– Juvenile courts and detention facilities will receive additional resources.
Meloni said hundreds of teenagers, many mobilized through social media, had joined Antifa extremists in the streets to vandalize property, loot stores and film themselves committing crimes.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 20, 2026
Bans
Paris police have banned people carrying bottles or cans of petrol or gas, or possessing fireworks, up to and including Thursday.
Last weekend, youths set fire to several shops and public buildings, and shot fireworks through tubes at police, wounding several.
Deployment
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has vowed a “massive” security deployment for Saturday, after his government admitted it “lost control” last weekend.
President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said authorities would be “uncompromising” towards “agitators from ultra-left fringe groups” that he blamed for much of the violence.
Elite police units have been mobilised for the coming weekend.
Macron has not, however, declared a state of emergency that would allow troops to be sent to reinforce police lines.
However, soldiers who for more than a decade have been patrolling sensitive sites, airports and train stations and tourist zones under “Operation Sentinelle” would continue to be deployed to protect those spots.
Shops
The government has announced interest-free loans for 3,000 shops that were damaged, many of them looted, during last weekend’s unrest.
Shop owners say that is not enough, though.
Crowdfunding initiatives have sprung up on social media for residents to help their local shops rebuild. But the total amount being raised is only in the low hundreds of thousands of euros — whereas the sector says the damage bill will run to hundreds of millions.
Burnt bikes
Tourists visiting Paris right now hoping to use the usually ubiquitous rental bikes available via apps might find them a bit more scarce.
More than 1,000 of the 40,000 bicycles deployed across the capital were destroyed, often burned, as they were thrown into makeshift street barricades built by protesters, according to an AFP tally of figures from the operators.
Food deliveries
Staying in and ordering food delivery could also be a problem for some.
The Union-Independants union covering most delivery bike riders has asked Uber Eats, Deliveroo and other such companies to suspend deliveries to areas considered dangerous.
It called for the riders to be able to cancel deliveries without losing money and for them to have a system allowing them to see risky areas in real time.
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Source: AFP
