French prime minister intends to continue the practice of curfews

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu considers the experience of imposing curfews in certain communes of the country to combat unrest to be successful and intends to continue this practice.

"The targeted introduction of a curfew contributed to the calm last night," he wrote on X. "This evening, decisions will be made on another declaration of a curfew where the situation requires it. These decisions will be made locally by prefects in cooperation with mayors."

On October 17, mass demonstrations against rising fuel prices and a decline in the population's purchasing power took place in Paris and across France. According to the organizers' estimates, 800,000 people took part in them, while the Interior Ministry counted 550,000. In a number of cities, the protests escalated into riots and clashes with police. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin reported that more than 2,500 people had been taken into custody across the country and promised that the authorities would continue to prosecute everyone who took part in the pogroms and looting.

Against the backdrop of the difficult situation with the unrest, Lecornu instructed the prefects of the departments to impose a curfew in a number of areas. In Paris, the authorities imposed a curfew on the Place de la République, located on the border of the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements of Paris, and on several streets in the Les Halles quarter in the historic 1st arrondissement.

Source: TASS