France deploys 70,000 police for third weekend of Halloween protests as unrest spreads in Europe
Photo: The GuardianFrance deployed 70,000 police and gendarmes on Saturday, Halloween, for a third straight weekend of protests over living costs and education, as youth-led demonstrations spread across Europe. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a very high risk of public disorder, especially after dark, and promised a firm response. Paris police banned union and yellow vest marches from the city center on Friday and ordered a single route along the outer boulevards, from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton. Unions and student groups challenged the restrictions in court. Police barred entry to Place de la Republique and Les Halles from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday nights, and unaccompanied minors face a 9 p.m. curfew near the Champs-Elysees, after a Paris court on Wednesday suspended an earlier curfew on minors. Authorities counted about 550,000 marchers on Oct. 17, when rioters looted hundreds of shops, and 410,000 last Saturday, when protests were largely peaceful but police made more than 1,300 arrests. In Germany, the Gen Z regelt alliance called for rallies in more than 30 cities demanding more spending on schools, climate protection and housing, and opposing any return to mandatory military service.
Right-leaning Breitbart leads with violence, calling the weekend "Halloween riots", describing the Oct. 17 unrest as leftist-driven, and noting Marine Le Pen's poll surge ahead of elections six months away. It stresses Nuñez's warning and a social media call for a "revolution". The New York Post runs the wire-style account, with route details, court challenges, curfews, and crowd and arrest numbers. Left-leaning outlets frame it more broadly. The Guardian places France within unrest in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Albania and focuses on Germany, where CDU's Alexander Throm urged preventing French-style scenes while Green co-leader Felix Banaszak warned that pre-emptive criminalization could fuel radicalization. The New York Times stresses jitters over masked and costumed crowds and another large security response. The alternative outlets AP and France 24 largely match the factual account; France 24 adds that shops boarded up.
How the sides differ Right sources stress riot risk and a firm police response; left sources add German political debate and the pan-European spread; alternative sources mostly match the wire-style account.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
- The New York TimesPaywallPlan for More Protests, This Time on Halloween, Causes Jitters in France
The Guardian focuses on the spread of protests to Germany and the political dispute between CDU's Throm and Green leader Banaszak; the New York Times stresses French jitters and a large security response.
AP gives a factual overview of the 70,000-strong deployment and Paris march restrictions, while France 24 highlights shops boarding up storefronts to prevent a repeat of earlier violence.
Breitbart foregrounds a violence forecast, Nuñez's warnings, and Le Pen's polling, while the New York Post details the police deployment, route bans, court challenges, curfews and arrest figures.