France braces for ‘very high risk’ of disorder at Halloween protests

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced on Thursday that security measures will be strengthened for planned protests on Saturday, coinciding with Halloween. The demonstrations, called by the yellow vest movement and student unions, come amid nationwide unrest over rising living costs that has previously led to large-scale looting and riots.

Nunez warned that 'the day of October 31 presents a very high risk of public disorder' while confirming that about 70,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized, matching the number deployed at last week's protests. He described this as an 'exceptional measure' to maintain order.

Halloween masking warning

The interior minister specifically warned demonstrators against using Halloween as 'a legitimate reason to hide one's face' to cause disturbances in public areas. While demonstrations will be allowed, they will be prohibited in city centers where there is a risk of public disorder.

Protest preparations

Nunez issued warnings to far-right groups that clashed with left-wing protesters in about 15 French cities recently. He accused the 'ultra-left' movement and some yellow vest activists of circulating social media messages promoting 'revolution' during Halloween evening demonstrations.

The yellow vest movement has announced a 'third act' of its protests on Halloween, calling for demonstrations outside the National Assembly and all town halls across the country. Last Saturday's protests drew about 410,000 participants according to the interior ministry, though unions claimed the figure was nearly double that.