Security plans expand as Paris marches and nationwide union protests approach
Speaking in Doha, Qatar, Emmanuel Macron accused Donald Trump and other foreign leaders of making “stupid comments” about France’s street unrest for political gain. Macron did not initially name the leaders, describing the information as a “manipulation of information.” He said Saturday’s unrest had prompted “comments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders.” Asked whether he was referring to Donald Trump, Macron answered: “Among others.” Macron made the remarks during a Gulf visit in which he was seeking energy deals to help offset rising fuel costs.
The gilets jaunes, a grassroots yellow-vest protest movement, formally filed plans for a march through central Paris on Saturday. The planned march was likely to be the government’s next major test. Student groups called for separate protests that day to demand greater investment in education. Gilets jaunes activists aim to revive their nationwide 2018 campaign against rising living costs and declining public services.
Macron pledged to prevent a repeat of the previous weekend’s violence. During his Gulf visit, he said: “Those who want to cause disorder in city centres next Saturday will be prevented from doing so.” He added: “There must be no wavering at the top of the state.”
Government ministers promised a “massive” and vastly reinforced security operation after acknowledging shortcomings in the initial response. Some troops were expected to be deployed alongside police reinforcements. Partial night-time curfews imposed Monday and Tuesday in areas prone to violent protests and looting, including Paris, Marseille and Lille, helped ensure relative calm, and authorities expected the curfews to be renewed Wednesday.
Macron challenges narratives about the unrest
Macron said some leaders in the middle of election campaigns, whether in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic, were “naively spreading narratives that certain circles are clearly trying to promote.” Macron said the leaders were “using our country for their own political campaigns,” adding: “And we don’t need that. We already have difficulties to deal with.”
Donald Trump had blamed France’s violence on “migrants, jihadists and communists” while campaigning for the Republican Party before the midterm elections. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who faces elections next weekend, said France had been hit by an “invasion of extremist Islam.” Analysts dismissed claims that migrants were the main factor in France’s protests.
Separately, Macron said AI-generated images were circulating that depicted scenes that never actually happened in France. He said people had claimed France was invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, a claim he described as “completely false.”
Violence, travel warnings and bond-market effects
Largely peaceful demonstrations over the cost of living rapidly descended into violence and extensive looting. The disorder was especially pronounced in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Limoges, where Limoges’s town hall was set on fire and partially destroyed. Macron and his government were struggling to contain a crisis that erupted six months before presidential elections to choose his successor. The government admitted that it had “lost control” over widespread rioting on Saturday.
Several countries issued travel warnings for France, while the unrest rattled already nervous financial markets. The yield on the French government’s benchmark 10-year bonds passed 5% on Wednesday, its highest since 2002.
Union action amid wider European unrest
France’s main trade unions separately called a nationwide mobilisation for 5 November. Sophie Binet, the head of the CGT union, said: “There is huge and legitimate anger, and the answer to that situation is not repression. It is a political response.”
Macron insisted France “doesn’t need a state of emergency,” saying it “has the means” to control any further unrest. Union representatives met Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday, but no concrete announcements followed.
Sometimes violent protests in European countries including Italy and Belgium have added to concerns that anger over living standards risks spreading across the continent, where many nations, including France, face budget problems. Italy’s government ordered 500 troops to Milan to stem street violence there.