Paris, Oct 20 (AP) Paris police issued an overnight curfew in two areas of the French capital, after a weekend marred by France’s worst rioting in years that targeted city halls, other public buildings and thousands of businesses across the country.
The order issued on Monday aims to protect “people and property from the violence and looting”, the Paris police statement said.
The curfew prohibits anyone from entering or remaining on the Place de la République, where rioting took place Saturday, and the shopping neighbourhood of Les Halles, which has been subject to looting.
The curfew will be in effect from 11 pm on Monday until 6 am on Tuesday. In addition, gatherings and demonstrations are banned from 8 pm, the Paris police said.
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had called for “very limited” and “localised” curfews.
In northern France, local authorities imposed a curfew for children and teenagers under age 18 in several cities, including Lille, starting from Monday and for the next two days from 8 pm to 6 am. Nice, on the French Riviera, also imposed an overnight curfew for minors from 9 pm.
Lecornu defended police handling of the unrest, saying that “despite scenes of severe violence and extensive property damage, no one was killed, and that is a miracle”.
He said that details of the curfews would be announced later Monday after consultations with mayors.
Mass protests in France are often tainted by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police. Saturday’s unrest recalled the riots that followed the fatal police shooting of a teenager in 2023, when authorities imposed local curfews, and violence during the yellow vest movement that began in 2018 over fuel prices and broader economic grievances.
(PTI News)
