France readies 70,000 police and boarded-up shops for Saturday protests

Security operation in Paris and beyond

French authorities will deploy more than 70,000 police officers nationwide on Saturday, 24 October, which is 10,000 more than the previous weekend, according to the Interior Ministry. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has told officers to be extremely reactive, warning that student protests could turn violent and that political groups and common criminals are expected to join in. Police vans are to be positioned around the Arc de Triomphe, and an anti-terrorist military unit has been seen patrolling the Champs-Élysées. Officials have also tightened rules on protest routes, the number of participants and which groups may hold marches. Some of those restrictions have been challenged in court, and judges annulled two of them, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department including Marseille and in the city of Limoges.

Who is expected on the streets

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to march across France on Saturday over the cost of living, cuts to public services and inequality. The movement began with pupils and students demanding better study conditions and more teachers, before widening into a broader anger over living costs. High school pupils, trade unionists and members of the Yellow Vests movement are expected to take part, and protests are also planned in Italian cities including Rome and Milan. Several organisations have said they will demonstrate regardless of the restrictions. In Paris, the student union's march was approved only on condition that it follow a detour around the historic and administrative centre, and the main assembly point remained unclear after police tried to push organisers towards the southeast periphery of the city.

Bans and restrictions across the country

A decree signed by President Emmanuel Macron in the week of 19 October limits authorised protests to actions organised by officially recognised unions, but local authorities have applied it unevenly. Lyon, Nice and Montpellier have imposed total bans on any public gathering for the whole of Saturday, in an effort to prevent renewed street violence. Marseille, by contrast, first blocked all protests and then reversed course, allowing a march coordinated by trade union confederations. The timeline below traces how the weekend of violence led to Saturday's measures.

Luxury retailers and cultural sites

Shopkeepers have covered windows and reinforced security after the weekend of 17-18 October, when Reuters put the number of shops damaged or looted at about 3,000. Rolex and De Beers stores near Place Vendôme are set to stay closed on Saturday, according to their staff, while the IWC store, owned by Richemont, will decide whether to close early depending on how the protests develop. Louis Vuitton, Dior and Bulgari, all owned by LVMH, have added security staff for the day, and the department store Printemps has increased its security personnel and carried out preventive repairs, a spokesperson told Reuters. The Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Paris Opera will close during the protests, while the Arc de Triomphe, the Tuileries and the Grand Palais are closed to visitors. Art Basel Paris has cancelled its weekend programme.

Stakes for France's luxury sector

France draws large numbers of foreign shoppers who buy Chanel bags and Hermès scarves, making them an important source of income for brands already facing slower demand. Consumer confidence is low worldwide and tourism is slowing against the backdrop of the war in Iran, while quarterly results from LVMH, Hermès and Kering published in October 2026 came in below expectations. Hermès's finance director Eric du Halgouët said the company has stepped up protection at its French stores and that it is too early to estimate the impact of recent events on the business. Lidiya Shevchenko, a sales assistant at the Graziella Braccialini store, said she doubts many people will want to enter shops during the protests. The luxury industry, concerned about its image, cannot afford more negative publicity.