Paris police ban protests near 10 secondary schools and five universities

Paris police have banned protests near 10 secondary schools and five universities for five days, from 16 to 20 November. The order was issued by police chief Patrice Faure, according to BBC News.

Under the ban, gatherings or marches that have not been authorised are prohibited within 100 metres of the named sites. The measure applies only to those locations and to that period.

Faure said the ban was necessary because of numerous disruptions and blockades around certain secondary schools and higher education institutions, along with persistent violence. He said the blockades had led to damaged public property, violence against members of the educational community and clashes with law enforcement.

The mayors of eight Parisian districts have contacted the regional education authority, the body that oversees schools in the area, to call for measures to secure the entrances and exits of blockaded secondary schools.

The order comes after weeks of demonstrations. According to Faure, 1,548 people have been arrested in Paris since the protests began. The interior ministry said 106,000 people protested across France on Saturday, including 24,000 in Paris, and that 219 people were arrested nationwide that day, 45 of them in Paris.

The unrest began in September with protests over poor conditions in secondary schools. It then spread to universities, to workers and to a yellow-vest movement opposing the cost of living.