France orders partial curfews after protests overwhelm police

France has announced partial night curfews in several cities after protests on Saturday drew far larger crowds than expected and led to looting and clashes that police acknowledge they failed to control.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said after an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday, 19 October 2026, that he was fully resolved to restore public order and called for local and partial curfews if needed. He said there was no question of imposing a full curfew on entire cities, and said a state of emergency could be declared if deemed necessary but that partial curfews seemed more appropriate at this stage. The Guardian

The prime minister's office announced partial curfews from 8pm to 6am on Monday and Tuesday nights in four northern cities, including Lille. In Paris, police imposed a curfew from 11pm Monday until 6am Tuesday on Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping neighbourhood. The Paris orders banned gatherings and demonstrations and prohibited anyone from entering or remaining in the two areas.

Authorities in Marseille banned all gatherings and demonstrations on Monday.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez conceded on Monday that police had lost control in some cities during Saturday's protests. He said there had been a lack of anticipation in protest preparations and that police numbers had sometimes been inadequate. Authorities had expected 200,000 demonstrators nationwide, but more than 500,000 turned out, according to Nuñez, while 60,000 police and other security forces had been deployed.

President Emmanuel Macron demanded a full security review and new operational methods to end the rioting. Nuñez tendered his resignation to Macron over the unrest, and Macron refused it.

Nearly 2,400 people, 70% of them adults, were arrested and almost 1,000 police and gendarmes were injured during the unrest, authorities said. An estimated 2,000 shops were ransacked and looted. The Guardian

France's digital minister Anne Le Henanff urged online resale platforms to remove listings for stolen items and summoned representatives of Vinted and eBay, with Amazon, Leboncoin, Meta and TikTok also invited, according to the commerce ministry.

Unions have called for a new round of strikes and rallies on 5 November.