Paris calm returns after weekend riots as curfews take effect

PARIS — Paris returned to calm on Tuesday after its first quiet night since a weekend of rioting, according to Arab News, as authorities imposed curfews in several French cities. Telegram posts by Al Jazeera channels said police had ordered a new night curfew in some districts of the capital; those posts have not been confirmed by an official statement.

Arab News reported that at least 2,400 people were arrested after rioters clashed with police on Saturday. Rioters set cars on fire, stormed public buildings and set a historic city hall ablaze during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin later put the figure at roughly 2,500 arrests since Saturday, according to the Justice Ministry.

On Sunday evening, small groups set fire to trash bins and bicycles and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities, Arab News reported. In the capital, a curfew ran from 11 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday. A police helicopter circled Place de la République overnight.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu wrote on X that "the targeted curfews helped keep last night calm." He said new curfews would be imposed where needed. Local prefects and mayors will decide them, he added.

Darmanin said 149 people had been jailed nationwide as of Tuesday at noon. He said he had asked prosecutors to appeal any sentence they considered too lenient. According to the city prosecutor's office, about 300 people have been sent before prosecutors in Paris following the Oct. 17 protests.

The National Assembly is launching an inquiry into the Oct. 17 violence and the policing strategy, its speaker, Yaël Braun-Pivet, said. Findings are expected by the end of the year.

It is not clear from the sources how many curfews remain in force after Tuesday.

Background

The weekend protests were against rising living costs and conditions in schools. Arab News noted that the statue at the centre of Place de la République was draped with a giant yellow vest on Tuesday, a reference to the "yellow vest" fuel-price protests that began in 2018 and shaped the first term of President Emmanuel Macron. Workers removed the vest with a crane and cleaned graffiti from the monument with pressure washers.