Despite return to calm, France remains on edge ahead of planned further protests

Saturday saw France rocked by some of its worst rioting in years, following several weeks of student demonstrations over poor conditions in high schools – just six months before the country is due to elect a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.

Images of clashes and public buildings set on fire or vandalised circulated around the world, prompting several countries – including the United States, China and Germany – to issue travel advisories for France.

Macron, who is currently on a tour of the Gulf aimed at securing oil and diesel supplies in an effort to bring down prices, has acknowledged shortcomings in the handling of the protests but slammed the "unbridled" violence.

Accused of failing to anticipate and contain the street violence, the government has pledged to restore order, and announced partial curfews in cities including Paris, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux and Marseille on Monday. Police confirmed the night had passed without major incidents across France.

French PM calls for partial curfews after weekend of violence, looting

"Targeted curfews have contributed to calm overnight," Lecornu wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). "Tonight new curfews will be decided where the situation requires it. These decisions will be made on the ground, by the prefects, in coordination with the mayors."

While some restrictions, such as those in Paris, were initially applied only on Monday night, others – including in Bordeaux and Nice – were set to remain in force for several days.

'Organised crime'

More than 2,500 people have been taken into police custody across the country since the weekend, and the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday that 123 people had been jailed.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin indicated that he had asked the public prosecutor's offices to "reclassify the cases as organised crime" – a move that will allow for the duration of police custody to be extended to 72 hours.

This would allow time for authorities to use geolocation and wiretaps to determine the position of suspects "at the time when stores were being looted and town halls attacked," he told TF1 television. 

He also said authorities would use facial recognition tools to examine social media to identify perpetrators. Limoges town hall was destroyed by fire on 17 October.

Meanwhile, Lecornu will visit the town of Limoges on Friday, where the 19th-century town hall was destroyed by fire on Saturday evening.

A 40-year-old suspect was arrested on Tuesday, in the Haute-Vienne department, a source close to the case told French news agency AFP.

An anti-terrorism unit has been tasked with the handling investigation into the suspect, who is known for his ties to the ultra-left, has a history of violence against public officials and has been flagged as a security risk, according to the same source.

Macron promises tough punishments for rioters during nationwide day of action

Criticism across the spectrum

Representatives of the Yellow Vest movement, which staged protests over fuel hikes and the cost of living in 2018 and 2019, have called for another day of demonstrations on Saturday, 24 October.

Under pressure, the government has scheduled another series of emergency meetings on Tuesday, including talks involving representatives of major social media platforms over the resale of items stolen in the looting at the weekend.

Criticism has come in from across the political spectrum, with far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen describing the unrest as a "wake-up call" that exposed a "profound crisis" of authority.

The leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, condemned what he called the government's "incompetence in the techniques used to maintain public order" and stated that his party does not "lead the popular movement – it leads itself".

Patrick Martin, head of France's Medef business lobby group, on Tuesday accused the state of having "failed" during the urban unrest, which affected at least 3,000 businesses, according to preliminary estimates. Finance Minister Roland Lescure pledged support measures for shopkeepers.

Lecornu will convene political parties for a meeting on Thursday, a member of his team said. He will also meet with trade unions on Wednesday.

(with AFP)