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Paris protests: 70,000 police deployed as curfew blocked

By Drooid · Oct 31, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

France deployed about 70,000 police and gendarmes for the third weekend of protests on October 31, 2026.
Authorities limited Paris marches to a single outer-city route and banned union and Yellow Vest rallies in the centre.
A Paris court suspended the curfew on unaccompanied minors, calling it an illegal infringement of movement freedom.
Student union Unef said renovation loans were insufficient and condemned police tactics as heavy-handed.

History

On 27 October 2005 two teenagers died while hiding in an electrical substation in Clichy-sous-Bois, sparking three weeks of unrest that saw over 8,000 vehicles torched and nearly 3,000 arrests before President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy then ordered massive police and gendarmerie deployments, a response echoed in later French protests.

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On 27 October 2005 two teenagers died while hiding in an electrical substation in Clichy-sous-Bois, sparking three weeks of unrest that saw over 8,000 vehicles torched and nearly 3,000 arrests before President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy then ordered massive police and gendarmerie deployments, a response echoed in later French protests.

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