French minister warns of 'very high' violence risk as country braces for Halloween protests

France's interior minister on Thursday warned of a "very high risk of public disorder" and announced the deployment of around 70,000 police officers for a new wave of protests this weekend.

France has been rocked by widespread anger over the rising cost of living and inequality, with nationwide demonstrations on October 17 degenerating into some of the country's worst rioting in years.

TheYellow Vest movement and student unions have called for a new day of protests on Saturday.

The demonstrations come in an increasingly tense political climate, with presidential elections six months away and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls.

"The day of October 31 presents a very high risk of public disorder," Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters.

Around 70,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed across France, matching the number mobilised a week ago, he said.

The security measures introduced last week to protect shops will be strengthened, Nuñez added.

Demonstrations will be allowed, but "not in city centres, where there is a risk of public disorder", he said.

"We will tolerate no excesses," he added, pledging an "extremely firm" response.

Nunez also said that authorities had detected social media calls for Halloween gatherings on Saturday evening calling for a "revolution".

He said those appeals were being circulated by radical left groups and some radicalised Yellow Vest activists.

"These gatherings will be banned," he said.

'Dialogue of deaf'

Authorities have admitted to security and intelligence failures that paved the way for the clashes, large-scale looting and vandalism of public property that erupted on October 17.

Although last weekend's rallies were largely peaceful, incidents of street violence still occurred.

The unrest followed weeks of demonstrations by students campaigning for better learning conditions.

On Monday, the government announced a series of measures aimed at addressing student protesters' demands, including replacing the university admissions platform and providing loans for school renovations.

Students said the proposals did not go far enough.
The police response has been criticised as heavy-handed and sparked a broader movement against the cost of living and police violence. Several teenage protesters have been seriously injured.

On Thursday, representatives of youth organisations met Nuñez but emerged disappointed.

"We went to this meeting to discuss our demands, but above all the last four weeks of mobilisation, which have been marked by unprecedented police violence," said Manon Moret, secretary-general of the student union Unef. "This meeting was a dialogue of the deaf."

Some of the attendees accused Nuñez of refusing to acknowledge violence committed against protesters.

Louis Letoublon, deputy head of the association Les Lycéens!, denounced "an irresponsible minister, incapable of answering for police repression".

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)