France, rocked by violent protests, imposes nighttime curfews in Paris and elsewhere

[Financial News] The French government, moving to contain the situation following nationwide violent protests, began imposing partial nighttime curfews on the 19th (local time). Local authorities stressed that a state of emergency was also possible in response to further protests announced by some civic groups.
According to AFP and other local media, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu issued guidance to local authorities after an emergency meeting on the 19th, instructing them to impose curfews starting that day. He said, “One purpose of this measure is to protect not only people but also property, such as shops,” emphasizing that the curfews would be partial and geographically limited. Lecornu did not rule out declaring a state of emergency, but added that partial curfews were more appropriate at this stage.
On that day, Paris police imposed curfews in the areas around Place de la République and Les Halles, a commercial district, from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. on the 20th. Partial curfews will be in effect in four northern cities, including Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain, from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. on the 20th. In Nice, Mayor Éric Ciotti said in a video message posted online that the city had decided to prohibit minors from moving around the downtown area. Authorities in the southern city of Marseille said they had banned public gatherings from noon to 8 p.m.
On the 17th, large-scale violent protests broke out across France as high school students’ demonstrations against poor educational conditions spread to include protests over insufficient public-sector investment and high prices. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said about 2,330 people had been detained by police over the weekend, 70% of them adults. French Trade Minister Serge Papin said at least 3,000 shops had been damaged and that the losses could amount to hundreds of millions of euros.
On the 19th, ahead of next year’s presidential election, Lecornu continued to blame the far left, saying, “Far-left forces are fomenting deep unrest across our country.”
The turmoil in France is expected to continue for the time being. The Yellow Vests, a social movement that began in November 2018 in protest against soaring prices and social inequality, announced further demonstrations, saying they would stage “Act II” on the 24th. Major French labor unions have also announced strikes and demonstrations for the 5th of next month.
Meanwhile, the price of France’s 10-year government bonds fell by 0.12 percentage points on the 19th from the previous session amid domestic turmoil and fiscal uncertainty. The price gap with Germany’s 10-year government bonds, considered safer than French bonds, widened to 1.45 percentage points.
 
[email protected] Jongwon Park Reporter