France to deploy troops amid mass protests and riots

[Financial News] The French government is mounting a strong response, deploying troops and extending curfews in preparation for a recurrence of large-scale protests and riots this weekend.
According to a CNBC report, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced at the National Assembly on the 20th (local time) that troops from the Sentinelle counterterrorism operation would be deployed to guard key facilities. The aim is to allow police and gendarmes to focus on their core law enforcement duties, including maintaining public order at protest sites and arresting people caught in the act.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that this weekend, “we will deploy a large number of security personnel to restore order immediately,” adding that localized nighttime curfews would be imposed as needed. Curfews for minors and other restrictions have already been implemented in major cities, including Place de la République and the Les Halles district in Paris, central Lyon, Lille and Nice.
The unrest began as peaceful protests by citizens dissatisfied with education system reform, high prices and deteriorating public services, but escalated into violence, with some protesters smashing shops and setting fire to the Limoges city hall. According to the French business federation, around 3,000 shops have been looted or damaged in the unrest.
Risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft said the damage could exceed that from the 2023 riots following the death of Nahel Merzouk, when insured losses reached 1 billion euros (about 1.47 trillion won).
With political turmoil reaching a peak, criticism of President Emmanuel Macron’s actions is also mounting. When Macron set off on a tour of four Middle Eastern countries—Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Qatar—to secure energy supplies and strengthen defense cooperation, fierce criticism poured in from politicians and the media: “There is no pilot on the plane” and “The country is in crisis, but the president is avoiding it.”
Meanwhile, the riots are hurting financial markets as they coincide with growing uncertainty about the French economy, including mounting fiscal deficits and a sharp rise in government bond yields. With French stocks and the euro on a downward trajectory, political tensions over the government’s review of its 2027 budget are also expected to intensify.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter