France Prepares for Third Halloween Weekend of Youth-Led Protests

France is mobilising roughly 70,000 police officers and gendarmes for the third consecutive weekend of protests, scheduled for October 31. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said demonstrations will be confined to the city’s outer boulevards—from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton—and that unaccompanied minors will face a 9 p.m. curfew around the Champs-Élysées. Police have barred entry to Place de la République and Les Halles from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

UsNews and World Report

The movement began in late September when high-school students protested poor school conditions. Their grievances merged with the Yellow Vest movement and trade unions, expanding to rising living costs, inequality, and deteriorating public services. The first large-scale unrest on October 17 devolved into looting and fires, prompting a national security clamp-down. With the presidential election six months away and Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls, authorities have heightened vigilance ahead of the Halloween weekend.

Times of Israel

• 70,000 security personnel deployed nationwide.

France 24

• 550,000 protesters recorded on October 17; 410,000 on October 31, when most rallies remained peaceful.

UsNews and World Report

• Police made more than 1,300 arrests on October 31.

UsNews and World Report

• 1,000+ municipal workers scheduled to clean public spaces after the weekend.

70,000 Security Personnel Deployed As France Prepares for Halloween Protests

Police union representative Olivier Cappe (former riot officer) said the shortage of specialist units—estimated at around 800—forces officers to intervene more quickly with projectiles, increasing injury risk. The interior ministry pledged an “extremely firm” response, stating that demonstrations would be allowed but not in city centres where the risk of disorder is highest.

CNN

Manon Moret, secretary-general of the student union Unef, condemned recent police tactics, calling the meeting with officials “a dialogue of the deaf” and citing “unprecedented police violence.” Felix Banaszak, co-leader of Germany’s Green party, warned that pre-emptive criminalisation could push participants toward radicalisation.

France 24

Medical reports note serious injuries: a 14-year-old suffered smashed teeth from a tear-gas canister, a 16-year-old lost vision in one eye after a rubber-bullet strike, and a 15-year-old lost a hand to a stun grenade.

CNN

German participation figures vary: the “Gen Z regelt” website cites 140,000 sign-ups, another estimate mentions 150,000, and a later report notes 160,000 individuals planning to attend. No source provides a definitive final count for the Berlin rally.

The Guardian

• “Shopkeepers can’t wait for Saturday to be over,” — Di Crescenzo, president of France’s Chamber of Commerce

Al Jazeera (website)

• “We feel somewhat compelled to respond with violence because we’re facing social, institutional, symbolic and now physical oppression,” — Lucas Petit, activist

CNN

• “Automatically you have to send your officers out to intervene, possibly charge and confront people,” — Olivier Cappe, former riot police officer, UN1TÉ police union

CNN

• “The day of October 31 presents a very high risk of public disorder,” — Laurent Nuñez, Interior Minister

France 24

A larger national demonstration is scheduled for November 5, bringing together unions, Yellow Vests, and student groups. In Berlin, organizers plan a separate protest on November 20 that will include teachers and other youth movements focused on declining school performance. Authorities have indicated that curfews and restrictions will remain in place for the remainder of the Halloween weekend, and police continue to monitor social-media calls for “revolutionary” gatherings.

The Guardian