France’s interior minister warned of a “very high risk of urban violence” as authorities braced Thursday for a new wave of demonstrations this weekend.
On Monday, the government announced a series of concrete measures aimed at addressing student protesters’ demands, including replacing the university admissions platform and providing loans for school renovations.
In a directive signed on Wednesday, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez instructed the Paris police chief and regional prefects to put together a “robust” security deployment for Saturday’s demonstrations, which coincide with Halloween. “Multiple calls have been identified on social media for gatherings in city centres and public squares across the country, under the pretext of Halloween,” the minister said in the directive seen by AFP on Thursday. The analysis of those calls “leaves no doubt as to the intention of those behind them to commit further acts of violence and disorder,” said the directive. “As a result, from early evening until late at night, the risk of urban violence is very high,” Nunez said.
