France boards up ahead of Halloween protests / Photo: Thomas SAMSON - AFP
France boards up ahead of Halloween protests
Shops and other businesses in Paris and other cities on Friday were boarding up windows as France braced for a third consecutive weekend of protests that coincide with Halloween celebrations.
Around 70,000 security personnel will be deployed on Saturday, matching the number mobilised a week ago, as authorities sought to prevent a repeat of the October 17 unrest when thousands of businesses were damaged or looted.
Alain Di Crescenzo, president of France's chamber of commerce, said on Friday that business owners were worried about fresh street violence.
"Shopkeepers can't wait for Saturday to be over," Di Crescenzo told broadcaster France Inter on Friday. "We're not feeling reassured," he added.
"The information we have is that Halloween is not helping matters, because we're going to have people wearing masks."
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Thursday that demonstrations would be allowed, but "not in city centres, where there is a risk of public disorder."
The Paris police prefecture only authorised a march on the outskirts of Paris.
The UNEF student union accused the authorities of seeking to "silence the voice of young people" and said it intended to march from Bastille to Nation in eastern Paris despite the ban.
Nunez also said authorities had detected social media calls for Halloween gatherings on Saturday evening urging protesters to spark a "revolution."
A police source said that Nunez had raised the alarm because "there is a risk. And it discourages the less daring from taking part."
Authorities have acknowledged security and intelligence failures that helped pave the way for the clashes, widespread looting and vandalism that erupted on October 17. Since then, they have moved to reassert control by restricting demonstrations and imposing curfews in several cities.
Another source said there was "a great deal of nervousness" at the Paris police headquarters and security agencies.
"On the 17th, they were caught off guard," the source said.
"Now the slightest piece of information is being turned into intelligence reports, and officers are being deployed left, right and centre."
The protests come in an increasingly febrile political climate, with presidential elections just six months away and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls.
The protest movement, which brings together Yellow Vest activists, trade unions, and high school and university students, initially focused on the rising cost of living, inequality, and deteriorating learning conditions.
But following the security clampdown, the movement broadened its demands to include greater protection for civil liberties and the right to protest.
I.Servais--JdB
