France deploys 70,000 security personnel for third protest weekend

France is deploying 70,000 police and gendarmes for a third weekend of student led protests on Saturday, with demonstrations restricted in several cities and only one gathering authorised in Paris, due at 2:00 p.m. local time.

Why it matters: A movement that began in September over the cost of living and school conditions has broadened into demands on civil liberties and policing, and the scale of the security deployment, six months before presidential elections, shows how seriously the government rates the risk of a repeat of the October 17 violence.

Data as of France 24 video report of October 31, 2026. The France 24 page itself was blocked in this run, so the item was verified against the broadcaster's official upload of the same video and matching indexed excerpts of the page; it is single sourced and graded C on that basis. The item is a preview published before the authorised Paris gathering began, so it carries no protester turnout, injury or arrest figures. Developing item.

France is preparing for a third weekend of protests on Saturday, with 70,000 security personnel deployed to prevent a repeat of the violence seen on October 17 and shops boarding up their premises in Paris, where dozens of metro stations are closed and curfews from 11:00 p.m. apply in certain areas. The protests were initially driven by high school students’ anger over the cost of living and poor school conditions, and have broadened to include demands for greater civil liberties and the right to protest, along with anger at alleged heavy handed policing since the movement began in September. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a high risk of violence, demonstrations have been restricted in several cities, and in Paris only one gathering was authorised, on the outskirts of the city rather than the centre protesters wanted, due to start at 2:00 p.m.

France deploys 70,000 security personnel for third protest weekend

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