France imposes curfews in Paris and Lyon after its worst rioting in years; about 2,400 arrested
NPR's account of the government response, the arrests and prosecutions, and the parliamentary inquiry.
Protests across France on October 17 over the cost of living and conditions in schools turned into rioting and looting, with at least 2,400 arrests, NPR reports. Paris imposed curfews in two zones around Place de la République and Les Halles, Lyon renewed a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in its center, and Marseille set one for unaccompanied minors. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told lawmakers the police deployment for new protests planned for Saturday will be "massive," and soldiers from Operation Sentinelle will guard sensitive sites. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 800 people had been sent before prosecutors, and police arrested a suspect in the arson of Limoges' 143-year-old city hall.
French officials blame far-left groups and opportunistic looters; U.S. Vice President JD Vance and President Trump linked the unrest to immigration. The National Assembly is opening an inquiry into the violence and the policing strategy.
Reporting
NPR ↗Across the spectrum 2
Libertarian
Liz Wolfe, Reason: In an October 19 roundup, Wolfe asked "Is this really about cost of living?" and wrote that what was "nominally about cost of living and budget issues appears to have expanded far beyond those."
Reason ↗Republican
JD Vance, Vice President: Sharing video of Limoges' city hall burning, Vance blamed the unrest on immigration and wrote: "I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn."
NPR ↗-
Yellow vests protests
After exploring France announces nightly curfews 'for as long as necessary' in Paris and other cities, the movement behind some of this week's calls to protest is covered in Yellow vests protests.
Covers the populist, grassroots weekly protests in France that began on November 17, 2018 and ended on June 28, 2020; yellow-vest groups have called for this Saturday's protests.
Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min
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