France Imposes Curfews After 500,000 Protesters Spark Riots and 2,500 Arrests
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Oct 20
France Imposes Curfews After 500,000 Protesters Spark Riots and 2,500 Arrests
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Oct 20
Summary
Sebastien Lecornu said curfews would be imposed where needed, with prefects and mayors coordinating locally after weekend protests over living costs and education turned into riots.
More than 500,000 people joined Saturday demonstrations, which devolved into looting and arson across numerous locations and led to more than 2,500 arrests.
Monday night passed without major incidents, but the government is escalating its response with meetings on security, unions and political parties through Thursday.
Anne Le Henanff is meeting social media companies Tuesday after looted goods appeared online, while protesters are calling for fresh demonstrations this Saturday without main union backing.
The unrest comes months before France's April-May presidential election, with Marine Le Pen leading polls and both Le Pen and Jean-Luc Melenchon accused of exploiting the crisis.