France kept this weekend's cost-of-living protests out of city centres to protect shops after October's riots. Sensible public order, or a curb on the right to protest?
Government figures put Saturday's turnout at 320,000, the third weekend of mostly youth-led protests over living costs and education. Paris marches were moved to the city's edge, about 70,000 police were deployed and Halloween evening gatherings were banned, after protests on 17 October turned into some of France's worst rioting in years.
What happened
France saw a third straight weekend of mostly youth-led protests on 31 October, over the cost of living, inequality and conditions in schools and universities. The government estimated 320,000 marched nationwide, after more than 500,000 on 17 October, when protests turned into some of France's worst rioting in years, and 410,000 on 24 October. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez allowed demonstrations, but not in city centres, citing a very high risk of disorder. Paris marches were moved to the city's edge, about 70,000 police were deployed and Halloween evening gatherings were banned.
Why people disagree
The case for: after October's looting, the state must protect shops, workers and residents, and moving marches away from busy centres still lets people protest while making violence harder. The case against: protests pushed to the edges are less visible, which blunts their point, and the peaceful majority pays for a violent few. Student groups also accuse the government of heavy-handed policing, and a Paris court has suspended a curfew on minors as an illegal limit on freedom of movement.
What's still unclear
Whether turnout keeps falling after three weekends, whether the city-centre limits face court challenges as the minors' curfew did, and whether the government's offers on schools and university admissions satisfy the students.
Sources
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