Paris protests close tourist hotspots as tensions escalate
News Source
β’Sat, 24 Oct 2026 07:07:40 +0000
π° What Happened
Major museums in Paris closed on Saturday and France deployed up to 70,000 police, along with helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannons, as new protests spread across the country. The Louvre, the Orsay, the Picasso Museum and the Grand Palais all shut their doors.
Shopkeepers boarded up windows and hired guards after last weekend's unrest. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the force was meant to stop a repeat of the looting, burned cars and attacks on public buildings that shocked the country.
Organisers expected another big turnout, after more than half a million people marched last weekend. Some rallies, including in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, were banned by local authorities.
π The Backstory
Last weekend's protests left about 3,000 shops damaged or looted and almost 2,400 people arrested. In Limoges, a suspected arson nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall.
Paris police moved the declared route of Saturday's main march away from the city centre, saying it passed too many businesses like the ones targeted on 17-18 October. Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon called the late change a way of creating chaos for organisers.
Trade unions say the bans break the constitutional right to protest. President Emmanuel Macron is in the final stretch of his term, with his popularity at its lowest.
π― Why It Matters
Protests that turn violent close shops, museums and transport, and the cost lands on residents and small businesses. The bans also raise hard questions about the right to protest.
Major museums in Paris closed on Saturday and France deployed up to 70,000 police, along with helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannons, as new protests spread across the country. The Louvre, the Orsay, the Picasso Museum and the Grand Palais all shut their doors.
Shopkeepers boarded up windows and hired guards after last weekend's unrest. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the force was meant to stop a repeat of the looting, burned cars and attacks on public buildings that shocked the country.
Organisers expected another big turnout, after more than half a million people marched last weekend. Some rallies, including in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, were banned by local authorities.
Last weekend's protests left about 3,000 shops damaged or looted and almost 2,400 people arrested. In Limoges, a suspected arson nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall.
Paris police moved the declared route of Saturday's main march away from the city centre, saying it passed too many businesses like the ones targeted on 17-18 October. Left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon called the late change a way of creating chaos for organisers.
Trade unions say the bans break the constitutional right to protest. President Emmanuel Macron is in the final stretch of his term, with his popularity at its lowest.
Protests that turn violent close shops, museums and transport, and the cost lands on residents and small businesses. The bans also raise hard questions about the right to protest.