France deployed 70,000 security personnel on Saturday to manage a third consecutive weekend of nationwide protests driven by growing public anger over rising living costs, strained public services and President Emmanuel Macron's administration.
Authorities remain on high alert as the demonstrations coincide with Halloween weekend. French officials expressed concern that rioters could exploit Halloween masks to hide their identities also creating additional law enforcement challenges and risking a repeat of the violence seen two weeks ago.
Shopkeepers and commercial establishment owners across major French cities boarded up storefronts to protect their properties. Alain Di Crescenzo, president of France's Chamber of Commerce, noted that business owners are deeply anxious about potential looting and vandalism. On one protected Paris storefront, a scrawled message read, "Behind these boards, there is neither power nor an enemy. Just a family and its work."
The French government pledged a firm security response to maintain public order with heavy police patrols stationed in high-risk zones to prevent destruction while monitoring the planned demonstrations.
