Paris, October 31, 2026 – The Europe Today: French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez on Thursday warned of a “very high risk of public disorder” and announced the deployment of around 70,000 police officers and gendarmes nationwide ahead of a fresh wave of protests planned for this weekend.
France has been gripped by widespread public anger over the rising cost of living and growing inequality, with nationwide demonstrations on October 17 descending into some of the most serious rioting the country has witnessed in years. The Yellow Vest movement and student unions have called for a new day of protests on Saturday.
The demonstrations are unfolding against an increasingly tense political backdrop, with presidential elections six months away and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls.
“The day of October 31 presents a very high risk of public disorder,” Nuñez told reporters.
The minister said the number of police and gendarmes to be deployed across the country would match the level mobilised the previous week. He added that security measures introduced last week to protect shops and businesses would be further reinforced.
Nuñez said demonstrations would be permitted, but “not in city centres, where there is a risk of public disorder.” Pledging an “extremely firm” response, he stressed that authorities would “tolerate no excesses.”
The minister also disclosed that authorities had detected calls on social media for Halloween gatherings on Saturday evening urging a “revolution.” He said these appeals were being circulated by radical left-wing groups and some radicalised Yellow Vest activists, and announced that “these gatherings will be banned.”
A source within the Interior Ministry indicated that authorities anticipate street violence on a scale comparable to the unrest of October 17. “Incidents of urban violence comparable to those seen on October 17 are expected throughout Saturday and after nightfall,” an aide to the Interior Minister said.
