“Armored vehicles and 70,000 police deployed” as France reels from cost-of-living protests... 135 arrested, shops shut down

[Financial News] As large-scale protests against high prices, financial hardship and a lack of public-sector investment took place across France, the French government deployed 70,000 security personnel and took a hard line. Tensions reached a peak in central Paris, where shops boarded up their windows against looting and major landmarks, including the Louvre Museum, closed.

According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, about 35,000 people took part in 136 rallies nationwide as of 1 p.m. on the 24th (local time). A total of 70,000 police officers—10,000 more than last week—were deployed, along with the RAID police tactical unit, the GIGN counterterrorism special forces and armored vehicles. Police arrested 135 people during the rallies and seized various weapons that could be used in violent protests, including metal ball bearings, firecrackers, homemade weapons and Japanese swords.
The authorities’ tough measures, prompted by fears of renewed violence and looting, brought the capital Paris to a virtual standstill. The Paris police headquarters forcibly changed the trade unions’ protest route, initially proposed to run to Place de la Bastille, to a stretch on the outskirts of central Paris between Porte d’Italie and Porte de Vincennes. The unions protested that the move was unilateral and filed a lawsuit, but a court dismissed it just before the march.


Major subway stations across central Paris were closed, and key tourist attractions, including the Louvre Museum and the Musée d’Orsay, shut their doors. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) sporting events and opera performances were also postponed. Shopkeepers, who had seen more than 3,000 stores looted during previous unrest, took measures to protect their businesses, boarding up windows and clearing merchandise from display shelves overnight. The City of Paris also collected all construction materials that could be used by protesters to build barricades.
Physical clashes broke out in various parts of the country despite police bans on protests. In Lyon, where demonstrations were banned outright, about 150 people gathered and attempted to block a road before police dispersed them with tear gas. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of France Unbowed (LFI), warned President Emmanuel Macron of the possibility of a general strike.
Meanwhile, a large anti-far-right counter-rally was held in Orléans, where the National Rally (RN), the far-right party led by Marine Le Pen, was holding its party congress. The protesters—26,000 according to organizers and 11,000 according to police—chanted slogans including “Macron resign, Le Pen to prison,” and strongly criticized both the government and the far-right camp.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter