In wake of riots, French authorities ban some protests

By CATHERINE PORTER

French authorities banned gatherings in some cities Thursday and over the coming days in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the riots that rocked the country over the weekend.

President Emmanuel Macron of France said Thursday that the bans were necessary “so that calm prevails, so that we can protect businesses and so that we can also protect public buildings.”

“The general recommendation is that there should be no protests in the coming days,” Macron announced after emerging from a security council meeting with Cabinet ministers and the French intelligence services. He said that some demonstrations planned by unions would be permitted, though the authorities would propose alternative protest routes.

Over the weekend, riots spun out of huge and largely peaceful demonstrations in cities across France. During the unrest, nearly 1,000 police officers were injured, and more than 3,000 shops were looted or damaged, according to the authorities. With more than 2,500 people arrested across the country, French courts were expediting trials. Police investigators were still working to identify other suspects.

Still, the large CGT union and student groups were among those urging further demonstrations and another march Saturday. Many are calling those protests a “second act” to the rallies last weekend, which numbered more than half a million participants. That has prompted the authorities to move to limit further fallout.

Even before Macron’s declaration, the authorities in places like Paris and Lille imposed temporary bans on gatherings for Thursday.