FRENCH AUTHORITIES RESTRICT PROTESTS AHEAD OF WEEKEND RALLIES

French authorities have imposed protest bans and restrictions in several cities before planned demonstrations on Saturday. President Emmanuel Macron said authorities would introduce curfews and other security measures, including bans on protests by what he called “groups without legitimacy”. “The priority is a return to calm,” Macron said after meeting ministers and intelligence officials. Authorities plan to deploy more police this weekend. The measures follow clashes, looting and damage to public buildings during protests on 17 October.

An emergency court injunction overturned a police ban on a student demonstration in Paris on Thursday, allowing it to proceed. Attendance estimates ranged from dozens to hundreds. Students had held four weeks of protests before the 17 October rallies, which centred on the rising cost of living. French authorities said they had arrested 2,700 people during the unrest and that courts had convicted hundreds of them. Student leader Coppelia Moreau said authorities were trying to distinguish between “good” and “bad” protesters.

Macron blamed what he called “organised ultra-left groups aiming to bring down the republic” for the worst violence and accused them of “sedition”. His government has acknowledged that police lost control during the clashes. Macron said he would chair a defence council meeting on Friday to decide the next steps for demonstrations called for Saturday and beyond. Further protests are planned as France approaches a presidential election in six months. Candidates seeking to succeed Macron have criticised the authorities’ response to the unrest.