October 22, 2026
The French authorities are preparing to raise the level of security alert in preparation for a new round of protests scheduled for next Saturday, amid serious fears of a repeat of the violence, riots, and widespread looting that the country witnessed on October 17, which came in protest against the high cost of living, the lack of resources in the education sector, and the deterioration of public services, and witnessed the participation of former activists from the “yellow vest” movement, high school students, university students, climate activists, and farmers.
In this context, during a question session before the National Assembly on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sebastian Lecorno accused “groups of the extreme left” of “developing a plan for rebellion” in some places against the backdrop of these protests. Locorno confirmed, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse, that the authorities will not allow these small rebel groups to march towards the Elysee Palace (the seat of the Presidency of the Republic) or the headquarters of the Prime Minister in “Matignon.”
To confront these threats, the Prime Minister announced that the security deployment to accompany Saturday’s demonstrations would be “heavy,” acknowledging that the procedures followed in the October 17 protests “were not mobile enough,” and noting that the Minister of the Interior had issued his clear instructions to the local authorities in this regard.
For his part, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed the strengthening of security measures compared to previous demonstrations, explaining that intervention methods will be reviewed in terms of the size of the participating forces, the speed of response and movement, and the capabilities available to confront these groups, which he described as dispersing the security forces in a very carefully planned manner.
In parallel, Le Cornu indicated that the curfew that the French authorities announced would be imposed as of Monday, October 19, in parts of the capital, Paris, especially in the vicinity of Place de la République and the “Les Halles” area, in addition to the cities of Lille, Douai, Wattigny and Dinan in northern France, according to Radio France Internationale. The measures also included a ban on organizing demonstrations in several neighborhoods in Paris, starting at eight in the evening.
