French authorities set curfews in parts of several cities yesterday, including Paris, Lille and Nice, as they faced pressure over security failings after a weekend of riots and looting stemming from nationwide anti-government protests.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu had ruled out a blanket curfew in Paris but not a state of emergency, and had said it was more appropriate for now to apply partial and localised curfews.
“My determination to restore order is absolute,” he told reporters.
Paris police said they had issued orders barring protests in certain areas of the French capital and had issued a curfew around the Place de la Republique and Les Halles. Both would remain in effect until 6am today morning.
“A police deployment is in place to ensure strict compliance with these measures,” the police said in a statement.
A source in Lecornu’s office said a curfew for minors had been set between 8pm and 6am for the next two days in Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain with the agreement of the local mayors.
In Nice, mayor Eric Ciotti said in a video posted online that he had signed an order installing a curfew for minors in central Nice overnight.
Marseille banned gatherings and demonstrations. French unions meanwhile called for a new round of strikes and rallies on November 5.
The weekend of looting and violence between some protesters and police followed weeks of student demonstrations, rocking France six months ahead of its next presidential election and highlighting pressures from a weak economy and surging debt.
l Italy’s government will dispatch 500 army troops to ‘defend Milan’ after two days of unrest that saw demonstrators clash with police, loot shops and vandalise property, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said yesterday.
The deployment is expected to be included in a package of security measures to be approved at a cabinet meeting expected today.
Shops in central Milan closed early yesterday and boarded up their windows, fearing a fresh outbreak of violence in Italy’s financial capital.
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