Macron blames ‘seditious’ far left for unrest as France bans some protests

Thursday’s planned demonstrations are outlawed in parts of Paris, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble.

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a security council meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, October 22, 2026 [Teresa Suarez/Pool via Reuters]

French authorities have barred demonstrations in several of the country’s largest cities, as President Emmanuel Macron blamed far-left groups for stoking violence during weekend protests .

The Paris Police Prefecture announced that Thursday’s protests would be banned in key parts of the city until 8pm (18:00 GMT). That includes areas near the presidential Elysee Palace, both houses of parliament, the city’s main train stations, as well as parts of downtown where looting occurred over the weekend.

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A police source told the AFP news agency the ban was necessary due to organisers’ “inability to prevent violence and vandalism”.

Elsewhere in France, authorities also prohibited protests planned for Thursday in Lyon, Lille and Grenoble.

The restrictions come after more than half a million people gathered across France on Saturday in a protest that brought together students demanding better conditions in schools and groups denouncing high living costs. At least 2,500 people were arrested after riots broke out in several areas , with shops looted.

French President Emmanuel Macron blamed Saturday’s riots on what he called “seditious acts” by “ultra-left” groups, whom he accused of trying to “bring down the Republic”.

Speaking from the Elysee Palace on Thursday, Macron said France would ban all “illegitimate” protests in the coming days, while approved demonstrations led by organised groups like unions would be required to take alternative routes outside city centres to protect businesses .

He added that he would convene the country’s defence council on Friday to take further action.

Thursday’s planned protests were seen as a prelude to a large demonstration on Saturday, when activists from the “yellow vest” movement, whose demonstrations over fuel prices shook France in 2018 and 2019, are expected to join.

Some of those protests, including marches in Lyon, will also be banned, local authorities said.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who met union representatives on Wednesday, said a “massive” security operation was planned for Saturday to prevent a repeat of the violence by small groups of rioters that had exposed shortcomings in security measures.

Meanwhile, Macron held a meeting with intelligence services, Lecornu and ministers on Thursday morning to obtain a detailed account of what went wrong over the weekend and review preparations for upcoming protests.

Union representatives said their meeting with Lecornu did not result in concrete proposals. They are now focusing on another big day of action scheduled for November 5, calling on private and public sector employees to join.

The education demonstrations first erupted last month in a high school in Creteil, southeast of Paris, over a lack of staff.

From there, class strikes, blockades and demonstrations spread to other Paris suburbs and then nationwide, including in smaller towns.

High school students have raised concerns about underfunded schools, dilapidated facilities and staff shortages, particularly in lower-income neighbourhoods.

The school demonstrations and blockades have morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs.

周四计划举行的示威活动在巴黎、里昂、里尔和格勒诺布尔的部分地区被禁止。

2026年10月22日，法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙在巴黎爱丽舍宫出席安全委员会会议。[Teresa Suarez/Pool via Reuters]

法国当局已禁止在该国几个最大的城市举行示威活动，总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙指责极左翼团体煽动周末抗议活动中的暴力行为。

巴黎警察局宣布，周四晚间至晚上8点（格林尼治标准时间18:00），市内主要区域将禁止举行抗议活动。这些区域包括总统府爱丽舍宫附近、议会两院、巴黎主要火车站以及周末发生抢劫事件的市中心部分地区。

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一位警方消息人士告诉法新社，由于组织者“无法阻止暴力和破坏行为”，因此有必要实施禁令。

法国其他地区，当局也禁止了原定于周四在里昂、里尔和格勒诺布尔举行的抗议活动。

这些限制措施是在周六法国各地超过50万人聚集抗议之后出台的。抗议活动包括学生要求改善学校条件以及谴责高昂生活成本的团体。骚乱在多个地区爆发，商店遭到洗劫，至少2500人被捕。

法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙将周六的骚乱归咎于他所谓的“极左”团体的“煽动性行为”，并指责这些团体试图“推翻共和国”。

马克龙周四在爱丽舍宫发表讲话时表示，法国将在未来几天禁止所有“非法”抗议活动，而由工会等组织领导的经批准的示威活动将被要求走市中心以外的替代路线，以保护企业。

他还表示，将于周五召开国家国防委员会会议，采取进一步行动。

周四计划举行的抗议活动被视为周六大规模示威活动的序幕，预计“黄背心”运动的活动人士将加入其中。该运动曾在 2018 年和 2019 年因燃油价格问题而举行示威活动，震动了法国。

地方当局表示，部分抗议活动，包括在里昂举行的游行，也将被禁止。

总理塞巴斯蒂安·勒科尔努周三会见了工会代表，他表示计划在周六开展“大规模”安全行动，以防止小股暴徒再次制造暴力事件，这些暴徒暴露了安全措施的不足。

与此同时，马克龙周四上午与情报部门、莱科尔努和部长们举行会议，详细了解周末期间发生的事情，并审查即将发生的抗议活动的准备情况。

工会代表表示，他们与莱科尔努的会面并未达成任何具体方案。他们目前正集中精力筹备定于11月5日举行的另一次大规模行动，呼吁私营和公共部门的员工参与其中。

上个月，由于师资短缺，教育示威活动首次在巴黎东南部的克雷泰伊一所高中爆发。

从此，罢工、封锁和示威活动蔓延到巴黎其他郊区，然后蔓延到全国，包括一些小城镇。

高中生们对学校资金不足、设施破旧和师资短缺等问题表示担忧，尤其是在低收入社区。

学校的示威游行和封锁行动已经演变成更大规模的抗议活动，抗议者们不满生活成本的飙升。