France is on high alert as the interior ministry prepares to deploy 70,000 police officers for nationwide protests on Saturday. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, "We will not let anything go unchallenged," while warning that authorities would be uncompromising with looters and those committing acts of violence.
Following riots on 17 October, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that 232 people have been imprisoned for vandalism, arson, and looting. More than 1,100 people appeared in court regarding the 17 October unrest, with approximately 260 cases involving charges of organised gang activity.
Darmanin ordered prosecutors to seek punitive measures against individuals convicted of attacking police officers or looting. President Emmanuel Macron met with representatives of high-school students on Friday and decreed that only demonstrations organised by recognised trade unions would be permitted on Saturday.
Lyon, Nice, and Montpellier announced blanket bans on gatherings, while Marseille reversed an order barring all protests to allow a trade union-organised march. The Louvre, Orsay, and Picasso museums will close on Saturday, and a scheduled home match for the football team PSG has been moved to Monday.
A website linked to the gilet jaunes movement listed more than 500 planned demonstrations and some 200 other actions for Saturday. In Orléans, located around 120 km south of Paris, a National Rally conference is scheduled where Marine Le Pen will appear for her fourth presidential run.
The mayor of Orléans warned that expected numbers are unprecedented, while Le Pen faces a political landscape where a court found her guilty of embezzling EU funds earlier this year. Jean-Luc Mélenchon stated that the movement is "destroying the republican state."
