Why are people protesting in France and why are marches being banned?
Protests over living costs and run-down schools began with teenagers and grew into what the AP calls France's most violent unrest in years. Now the state is banning most marches, closing museums and sending tens of thousands of police onto the streets.
THE SHORT ANSWER
People are protesting over rising living costs and strained public services, a dispute that began with high school students angry about teacher shortages and poor buildings. Marches are being banned because the main protest day, 17 October, turned into riots, looting and arson, and authorities say hard-left groups are calling for more. Marseille and Lyon have banned protests outright, and Paris allows only one union march. About 70,000 police and gendarmes will be on duty on Saturday 24 October.
What happened
On Saturday 17 October, demonstrations against living costs and school conditions spread across France and drew hundreds of thousands of people. Fires, looting and clashes followed in Paris and other cities. In Limoges, the 143-year-old city hall was deliberately set on fire, according to the local prefect, Maurice Barate. A prefect is the senior official who runs a département, an administrative area of France. Paris police said they detained 855 people, which they called a record. The interior ministry said nearly 2,400 people were arrested across France that day and almost 1,000 police and gendarmes were hurt, seven of them seriously. Gendarmes are military police. Business groups say some 3,000 stores and businesses were ransacked.
President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation on Sunday. He said "nothing justifies" the "unbridled" violence and drew a line between protesters with legitimate demands and those who smashed and looted. He promised "full transparency" about the security response, after criticism that police were not prepared. By Thursday, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 2,700 people had been arrested nationwide, more than 1,000 had appeared in court and 217 had been jailed after fast-track trials.
For Saturday 24 October, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced 70,000 police and gendarmes, 10,000 more than a week earlier, backed by specialist units, helicopters, drones and water cannon. Paris will allow only one march, called by the CGT labour union, from Bastille to Nation. Marseille and Lyon have banned protests, and Rouen and Grenoble have banned or restricted gatherings. Paris has a night curfew around République and Les Halles until 26 October. The Louvre, Orsay and Picasso museums and the Grand Palais will be shut, and Art Basel Paris cancelled its weekend programme. On 23 October Macron met secondary school organisations for the first time since the protests began.
Why it matters
The unrest is a test for a government accused of being blindsided, and it comes as France heads towards a presidential election to replace Macron. It has also pulled attention from the original complaints about prices and schools. The reports so far do not say whether the government plans any new measures on living costs, though Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is due to meet school representatives, teachers and local officials on 26 October.
- For students and pupils, The demands named in reports are smaller classes, replacement of absent teachers and scrapping Parcoursup, the university admissions platform. The main student union, UNEF, had its rally request rejected in Paris and says it will march anyway.
- For shopkeepers, Marseille alone saw damage to more than 500 businesses. Business groups have urged shops to stay shut on Saturday, and Macron pledged support for those hit.
- For the government, Macron asked Nuñez to draw lessons on intelligence gathering and anticipation, and said he expected clear answers. A second weekend of violence would deepen the criticism.
- For people living in the cities with curfews, Movement is restricted at night in parts of Paris, and in the Marseille area the curfew is extended to the whole population on Saturday night.
The background: rising costs, strained services and a history of street protest
Macron in office
Macron took office on 14 May 2017 after winning that year's presidential election, and he was reelected in 2022. Under his presidency, France's budget deficit more than doubled, from 2.6% of national output in 2017 to 6.1% in 2024. Public debt stood at 110.6% of national output in 2023.
The material does not link those figures to the current protests. They show the financial setting in which the government has had to work.
The Yellow Vests, 2018 to 2020
The best-known earlier wave began on 17 November 2018. The Yellow Vest movement, a grassroots set of weekly protests, started over a planned rise in fuel taxes, especially on diesel. The vest was an easy symbol because every French driver had to carry one in the car. More than 300,000 people took part on the first day, building barricades and blocking roads. Macron's approval rating had already dipped below 25%.
On 10 December 2018 Macron pledged a rise of €100 a month in the minimum wage in 2019, among other measures. The protests went on weekly. In March 2019, 200 people were taken into custody in Paris after the Champs-Élysées was again targeted by rioters. Shopping losses of €2 billion were reported by mid-December 2018, and Paris saw fewer tourists in 2019. The movement was fading when the COVID-19 lockdown began, and it ended on 28 June 2020.
Political turbulence, 2022 to 2024
After the 2022 election Macron's government lacked a majority in parliament and was defeated several times there, which Wikipedia calls an oddity under the Fifth Republic, the current French system. In June 2024 Macron dissolved parliament and called new elections, after exit polls suggested his Renaissance party would lose heavily to the National Rally in the European Parliament election. Lecornu is now prime minister.
September 2026: students start it
The current protests began last month with high school students angry about teacher shortages and shabby buildings. They grew into bigger marches by students, unions and the Yellow Vest movement, over living costs and public services more broadly. Weeks of student protests had at times turned violent before 17 October.
17 October and the crackdown
The nationwide protest day on 17 October brought the riots, record detentions and fires described above. Authorities say radical militants and bands of young looters took advantage of the dispute. Nuñez said officials had found many online calls from hard-left groups to attack public buildings. Since then, officials have used bans, curfews, closures and a larger police presence to prevent a repeat.
GOOD TO KNOW
Darmanin said half of those detained after 17 October had no prior criminal record, according to the newspaper Le Figaro.
Who decides which marches are allowed?
In Paris, the police prefecture decides. For Saturday it approved only the CGT march from Bastille to Nation from 2pm. It rejected a Bastille-to-Opéra route sought by the Yellow Vest coordination and banned every other demonstration in the capital. Elsewhere, local prefects decide. Marseille and Lyon banned protests entirely. Rouen barred gatherings in three central districts from 9am to 8pm and banned carrying petrol, gas, solvents and fireworks. Macron said that where protests are not banned outright, only authorised union demonstrations will be allowed.
The curfews in Paris were ordered by Nuñez and Lecornu. The reports so far do not set out the legal basis for the bans, or say how police will treat banned rallies that go ahead, beyond Nuñez promising a "very firm approach to making arrests".
Timeline: 2017 to today
MACRON AND THE YELLOW VESTS
Emmanuel Macron takes office as president after winning the 2017 election.
The Yellow Vest protests begin over a planned fuel tax rise, with more than 300,000 people in the streets on the first day.
Macron pledges a €100 monthly minimum wage rise in 2019 and other measures in a televised address.
Two hundred people are taken into custody in Paris after rioters again target the Champs-Élysées.
The Yellow Vest protests end, after fading when the COVID-19 lockdown began.
POLITICAL STRAIN
Macron is reelected, but later faces repeated defeats in parliament.
The budget deficit reaches 6.1% of national output, up from 2.6% in 2017.
Macron dissolves parliament and calls new elections after exit polls point to losses for his party.
THE 2026 PROTESTS
High school students begin protesting over teacher shortages and poor school buildings.
Nationwide cost-of-living protests turn into riots, looting and arson, and Limoges city hall is set on fire.
Paris police report a record 855 detentions, and Macron says nothing justifies the violence.
France announces 70,000 police for Saturday, with museums closed and only one union march allowed in Paris.
What to watch next
- Saturday 24 October: Students, CGT members and Yellow Vests plan to march, and UNEF says its rallies will go ahead despite bans.
- Monday talks: Lecornu is due to meet school representatives, teachers and local officials on 26 October, and Paris's night curfew runs until that day.
- The courts: Darmanin expects the number of people jailed after fast-track trials, 217 so far, to rise.
- Orléans: The National Rally is due to confirm Jordan Bardella as leader on 24 October, with a Marine Le Pen rally the next day, and 20,000 to 30,000 counter-demonstrators are expected.
Sources
- Yahoo News23 OCT 2026
- 2 News Nevada23 OCT 2026
- The Times of India23 OCT 2026
- India Today23 OCT 2026
- Brussels Signal23 OCT 2026
- BBC22 OCT 2026
- arabnews.com18 OCT 2026
- LBCIV718 OCT 2026
- ua.news18 OCT 2026
How this article was made: Implica's editorial system wrote it from the news reports above, with the background drawn from Wikipedia: Yellow vests protests, United Kingdom cost-of-living crisis, Presidency of Emmanuel Macron, Human rights in France.