Paris Police Seal Central Districts as 70,000 Officers Mobilize Against Repeat of October 17

France deployed more than 70,000 police and gendarmes on Saturday to prevent a repeat of the looting and clashes that hit central Paris a week earlier.

The Interior Ministry said the deployment was 20 percent larger than the previous weekend. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the elite RAID unit was assigned to support other police operations rather than handle crowds directly. Police reported at least 135 arrests nationwide by early Saturday afternoon and said they had seized weapons. By contrast, the October 17 demonstrations produced more than 2,000 custody cases and damage to thousands of businesses, according to official figures. The Yellow Vest movement has scheduled its own protest for October 31.

The Paris march was confined to the Boulevards des Marechaux on the city's southeastern edge, running from Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes. Local authorities permitted this single itinerary after banning a negotiated central route that would have run from Place de la Bastille to Place de la Nation. Demonstrations organized by groups other than unions were also barred in the capital. At least 24 metro stations closed at the request of the police prefecture, and the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay shut for the day. Art Basel Paris cancelled its weekend programme.

Marchers included students, teachers, ecologists, nurses and union representatives, some of whom called for President Emmanuel Macron to resign. Emma, a protester and podcaster, said the route change was a government tactic to drain the movement of energy. Monica, retired from the public education sector, said it created the impression that authorities wanted to make the movement invisible. Neither gave a last name.

Central Paris businesses shuttered and covered shop windows with protective panels, and some retailers hired private security. Police banned protests in downtown areas of Montpellier, Rouen and Nice, while authorizing a union march in Marseille under strict conditions. In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse about 150 demonstrators.

The demonstrations began in mid-September when high school students blockaded schools over dilapidated buildings, teacher shortages and what they view as an unfair university admission system. On Friday, Macron met student representatives for the first time since the protests started and promised more teachers and a deep overhaul of Parcoursup. Students said they would continue mobilizing until the government presents concrete actions. More than half a million people marched on October 17.

The turmoil arrives about six months before a presidential election in which Macron is barred from a third consecutive term and due to leave office in 2027. Marine Le Pen, who has campaigned on restoring law and order, leads recent polls by a wide margin. In Orleans, thousands shouted anti-fascist slogans as her National Rally held a party congress marking the start of its campaign, and authorities expected 20,000 to 30,000 people at a counter-demonstration.