French authorities deployed 70,000 police officers nationwide on Saturday ahead of expected mass protests over rising living costs, fuel prices and strained public services.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez urged security forces to remain highly responsive also warning that political extremists and criminal groups were planning to trigger violence. The heightened security presence follows intense unrest the previous week when demonstrations drew up to 800,000 people and resulted in more than 2,500 arrests alongside widespread looting.
In Paris, where 10,000 officers were stationed, military anti-terrorism units patrolled major landmarks including the Champs-Elysees. Concerned about property damage, shopkeepers boarded up storefronts while major cultural sites like Louvre Museum and over 20 metro stations were closed for the day.
Organizers faced logistics challenges after Paris police altered the main march route away from the city center to protect businesses also drawing sharp criticism from hard-left political leaders. Demonstrations proceed under strict restrictions or outright bans across several French city Lyon, Rouen and Toulon.
Meanwhile an authorized rally opened in Orleans to protest a congress held by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally. Tensions across the country remain elevated following a fatal shooting west of Paris on Friday which authorities are investigating as a hate crime.
