Another weekend, another round of violence on the strife-torn streets of France. That was the grim forecast Friday as the country's interior minister warned of a "very high risk of public disorder" across the coming 48-hours as some 70,000 police officers prepare for riots over the Halloween weekend.
Infighting has broken out among centrist candidates for France’s presidential race, splitting the mainstream vote and making a runoff between far-right Marine Le Pen and hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon more likely.
Opinion polls before next April’s presidential election show Le Pen is nearly certain to qualify for a second-round runoff in May and that Melenchon is consistently nudging ahead of mainstream candidates.
Centre-right Edouard Philippe, President Emmanuel Macron’s former prime minister, has so far been the centre’s torchbearer.
Philippe struggles to connect with voters
But Philippe’s lacklustre campaign, voter weariness near the end of Macron’s two terms, an explosive social and security context and the challenges he faces from within his own camp have hurt his polling, people in Macron’s camp and political analysts say.
“There’s panic on board because there was no scenario planned for this. They hadn’t anticipated the cataclysm under way,” said Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, a political communications specialist at Sciences Po.
Philippe has also faced criticism over several awkward interventions — including suggesting in a podcast that ideally a newly elected president should have three months to rest before taking office — and political analysts say he is struggling to connect with voters at a time of rising political tensions.
“The terrible thing is that he isn’t cutting through,” Moreau-Chevrolet told Reuters. “They didn’t understand that you have to campaign. There’s a kind of dilettantism.”
Rivalry between former prime ministers intensifies
The anxiety has sharpened tensions between Philippe and his main rival, Gabriel Attal, another former prime minister. They are locked in a battle over who should step aside for the centrist ticket.
Philippe fell to 15% support in an IFOP-Fiducial poll for Le Figaro newspaper, a six-point drop since September. That is below the 16.5% for Melenchon, who would have enough to qualify for a runoff against Le Pen.
Attal stood at 13%, behind Melenchon and Raphael Glucksmann, a mainstream centre-left candidate.
Under pressure from lawmakers in his camp to abandon his presidential ambitions and rally to Philippe, Attal irritated many Macron allies this week by reviving the idea of a broad centrist primary, a proposal critics say risks fuelling division at a time when moderates can least afford it.
Still, Attal has leverage. As leader of Macron’s Renaissance party, he controls the purse strings of the party machine.
Polls expose divisions within French centre
“It’s catastrophic,” said Jean-Baptiste Moreau, a former lawmaker from Macron’s camp.
“They are attacking one another in the media and they are both collapsing in the polls. We’re heading straight towards an RN-LFI second round,” he said of Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and Melenchon’s France Unbowed (LFI). “In the current state of opinion, I don’t see how we avoid it.”
The fragmentation stretches beyond the Philippe-Attal feud.
On the centre-left, Glucksmann has gained ground after winning the Socialist primary. On the right, Bruno Retailleau, a former interior minister, and David Lisnard, the free-market mayor of Cannes, are targeting the same moderate electorate.
Philippe’s supporters say reports of his demise are premature. Laurent Marcangeli, a member of Philippe’s party Horizons, acknowledged recent polling setbacks but said the former prime minister remained the only centrist candidate with a realistic path to the runoff.
“He’s still in the race for the second round and to prevent a Le Pen-Melenchon duel,” said Marcangeli, adding that in some polls Attal scored as low as single digits.
Moderates face pressure to unite
Some Macron allies, however, are openly questioning whether either man should carry on. They say any association with Macron, who is finishing his second term at record-low popularity, will weigh on a centrist candidate.
“The two of them are collapsing,” said Perrine Goulet, a lawmaker from Macron ally MoDem. “Any candidate who has been in a Macron government is going to be struggling.”
With Le Pen and Melenchon consolidating support at opposite ends of the spectrum, she said moderates needed to put aside personal ambitions and rally behind a single contender able to unite supporters of Glucksmann through to Retailleau.
“We’re calling on everyone to put their egos aside and find the best candidate,” Goulet said.
“If we keep Glucksmann on one side, Retailleau on the other, Edouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal, we’ll end up with an LFI-RN second round. The danger is simply too great.”
“Podría haber sido cualquiera de nosotros”. La frase se repite en bucle estos días entre los vecinos de Trappes tras el atentado racista en Francia, que dejó heridas a cinco personas, entre ellas una niña de 12 años, y se cobró la vida de Pengo Bossio Wangi, un hombre de 26 años. Algunos ya no salen de casa por miedo. Otros se sobresaltan cada vez que un vehículo pasa cerca. Casi todos sienten que llevan una diana en la espalda por el simple hecho de ser de origen africano o magrebí. Mientras lloran la pérdida de Bossio Wangi, un joven deportista muy querido en esta ciudad multicultural de la periferia de París —donde crecieron, entre otros, el actor Omar Sy o el futbolista Nicolas Anelka―, los vecinos se preguntan: ¿cuánto odio tiene que albergar una persona para disparar ocho veces a una niña solo por el color de su piel? La hipervigilancia como secuela del atentado los tiene agotados. Pero sobre todo sienten rabia contra quienes dan altavoz al odio en prime time, un día tras otro: medios de extrema derecha como CNews y canales de información continua de corte sensacionalista como LCI o BFM, cuyos platós se han convertido en escenarios de banalización de las ideas racistas.
Kevin T., el presunto autor del tiroteo el pasado viernes en las localidades de Trappes y La Verrière, a las afueras de París, en el que murió una persona y al menos cinco resultaron heridas, admite que seleccionó a sus víctimas por su color de piel y religión. No se arrepiente y niega que su acto sea terrorismo porque “fue legítimo”. El fiscal antiterrorista, Olivier Christen, ha dado detalles de la investigación este jueves y ha confirmado el carácter racista del atentado.
Bally Bagayoko, alcalde de Saint-Denis, participa en una marcha para rendir homenaje a la memoria del fallecido en el tiroteo de Trappes, Pengo Bossio Wangi (26 años), el 25 de octubre de 2026.
Honorary Chamber President Says Conviction Could Bar Far-Right Leader From Running.
On Tuesday, Didier Guerin, the president of the honorary chamber of the French Supreme Court, expressed doubts about the possibility that far-right leader Marine Le Pen could run in the 2027 presidential elections following her conviction for misappropriation of European Parliament funds.
In an interview published by Le Monde, Guerin, who presided over the Supreme Court’s criminal chamber between 2014 and 2017, said she will not be able to run in the April-May elections if the appeal in cassation of the sentence handed down on appeal against Le Pen succeeds.
According to his thesis, if the Supreme Court annuls the appeal verdict, the ruling issued at first instance on March 31, 2025, will apply, which sentenced the far-right leader to two years of house arrest and five years of ineligibility with preventive application.
Le Pen was convicted of misappropriation of European Parliament funds, after having paid party workers and even domestic employees with European funds intended for parliamentary assistants.
Guerin considers that an appeal to the Supreme Court annuls the appeal judgment and imposes the first-instance sentence, so that de facto Le Pen is ineligible.
Le Pen launched her candidacy after the appeals court reduced the sentence to one year of house arrest and only 15 months of ineligibility, which she has already served.
Guerin affirms that the jurisprudence of the court to which he belongs supports his theory, contrary to what other jurists think, including the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Remy Heitz.
The Supreme Court magistrate notes that the only possibility Le Pen has to run in the 2027 elections is, paradoxically, for the court to reject the appeals of the sentence and confirm her conviction.
If the Supreme Court’s decision is delayed beyond March 26, 2027, the deadline for validating candidacies for the first round on April 28, the far-right candidate will not be able to seek her fourth run for the Elysee, according to Guerin.
Marine #LePen is betting on public anger over rising prices, unrest, and immigration to propel her presidential bid, promising tougher borders and a sweeping return to law and order in France.https://t.co/inACuFz4DA
For her part, Le Pen has filed a complaint with the French Superior Council of the Judiciary against Judge Guerin over his statements about her ineligibility, considering that they violate magistrates’ duty of discretion and contain evaluations of a political nature, according to a statement from her six lawyers.
The lawyers of the far-right leader maintain that his interpretation contradicts current law on the provisional execution of sentences and the effects of judicial appeals.
They also note that the attorney general of the Supreme Court has defended a position contrary to that expressed by Guerin.
The statement also questions that an honorary magistrate publicly comments on a judicial decision of his own and considers future political scenarios, including the possibility that her candidacy be prevented or that she be removed if elected.
For this reason, Le Pen has asked the Superior Council of the Judiciary to remind Guerin of his ethical obligations, considering that his statements exceed the legal sphere and could compromise the image of the judicial institution.
If ever enacted, proposals by Marine Le Pen and the AfD leader, Alice Weidel, to hollow out EU institutions would be a continental act of self-harm
Following the Brexit referendum in 2016, Marine Le Pen was in a predictably celebratory mood. Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, she told one interviewer, was the first breach in the “Brussels Wall”. Ms Le Pen’s Front National party was at that point committed to taking France down the same path, given the chance. But as the UK’s self-inflicted economic wounds became a cautionary tale for the rest of Europe, the notion of Frexit was put on ice.
Instead, Ms Le Pen now hopes to lead far-right allies in hollowing out the EU from within. This month, both she and the leader of Alternative für Deutschland, Alice Weidel, outlined their visions of a “Europe of nations” in which EU institutions would be stripped of both cash and power. Ms Weidel’s “new deal for Europe” would abolish elections to the European parliament, and seek German opt-outs in areas such as migration, defence and common borrowing. Ms Le Pen’s party, now called National Rally, proposes slashing French contributions to the EU budget by 60% over a five-year presidential term, and ending the role of Brussels in proposing common policies for the 27 member states.
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Marine Le Pen could scarcely have chosen a more favourable backdrop for her presidential campaign. A weakened president approaches the exit, demonstrations expose deep public frustration, and scenes of disorder reinforce her central argument: France’s governing establishment has lost control. The cards are all falling in her favour. Whether she can play them successfully remains the question.
Launching her campaign in Orléans, Le Pen promised national renewal and tougher policing. Reuters reported a poll placing her at 32–33.5 per cent, against 17 per cent for Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Those numbers are a snapshot, but they suggest something politically consequential: the candidate once treated as an outsider now occupies the strongest starting position.
Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, increasingly resembles a lame-duck president. Constitutionally unable to seek another consecutive term, he faces a succession contest in which his endorsement may carry limited weight. His admission of failures in anticipating the unrest compounds the damage. A presidency built around authority and personal command is approaching its conclusion with both visibly diminished.
For Le Pen, the advantage is obvious. Every confrontation between police and rioters supplies another opportunity to ask whether the government can perform its most basic duty: protecting the public. Citizens do not need to endorse her entire programme to find that question persuasive. They need only conclude that those already governing have exhausted their answers.
Yet the origins of the demonstrations matter. The Associated Press describes a movement rooted in education funding, rising living costs and inequality. Peaceful protesters cannot reasonably be bundled together with looters. Nor does the reporting establish that these disturbances are an expression of Islamism or Muslim demographic change. Misdiagnosing the crisis would weaken any serious argument for restoring order.
The broader integration debate nevertheless deserves frank treatment. A republic cannot function confidently if its citizens believe that common laws, civic obligations or freedom of expression are negotiable. Governments should confront Islamist intimidation, religious coercion and deliberate separatism wherever evidence establishes them. They should also expect newcomers to learn the language, respect constitutional principles and participate in national life.
Those expectations are legitimate. Treating an entire Muslim population as inherently unintegrated is not. Religious identity alone establishes neither hostility to France nor unwillingness to belong. The useful political distinction is between citizens who uphold democratic rules and individuals or organisations that seek to undermine them. That standard should apply consistently, whatever the religion or ideology involved.
Across Europe, political leaders would be wise to recognise the electoral danger of appearing evasive about integration. Voters seeking enforceable rules should receive practical answers: effective language teaching, access to employment, credible policing and action against extremist networks. When mainstream parties substitute moral lectures for measurable results, they leave an opening for opponents promising clarity and control.
Le Pen’s opportunity is to connect these concerns with a wider sense of abandonment. Disorder, strained services and anxiety about belonging can become parts of one political story: the state demands obedience and taxation but delivers too little security or reassurance. Her opponents will struggle if their response consists principally of explaining why voters should fear her.
But favourable circumstances do not eliminate her weaknesses. Her conviction over European Parliament funds, which she is appealing, sits awkwardly beside a campaign demanding accountability and respect for law. Her promises of spending restraint, lower business taxes and resistance to further retirement-age increases also invite scrutiny. Winning confidence requires explaining how competing commitments can be reconciled.
The challenge for her rivals is therefore substantive. They must demonstrate that public order and legitimate protest can coexist, that integration involves shared duties, and that economic grievances deserve workable remedies. Simply rebuilding an electoral barricade against Le Pen may prove insufficient if voters associate its defenders with the failures that brought France here.
For now, momentum belongs to her. Macron looks depleted; the streets convey insecurity; the establishment struggles to offer a convincing successor or a persuasive account of renewal. None of this guarantees a Le Pen presidency. It does mean that her opponents can no longer rely on her reputation to defeat her. They must recover the public’s confidence in their own capacity to govern. Otherwise, France’s crisis may become her decisive electoral advantage.
Moktar, 21, pulls up his neck gaiter, tightens the hood of his puffer jacket and steps out of the house in the late afternoon, dressed in immaculate black from head to toe. Behind the little mustache and the thick-lensed glasses with gold-rimmed temples, he smiles — a third-year college student from a very modest Tunisian family. Friendly, sharp, with an unusually political sense for his age and skin toughened by his surroundings, Moktar grew up in one of the poorest buildings in the L’Abreuvoir neighborhood in Bobigny (population 48,873), right opposite one of the drug-dealing hotspots where traffickers, police, customers, and addicts come and go all day. “Ballon here,” reads graffiti on the wall, advertising the nitrous oxide gas sold for inhalation.
Chess legend and Putin critic says Russia’s propaganda machine is backing the PM, predicts a new government without him, urges Israel to side with Ukraine against a shared enemy
Anger on the streets could increasingly turn against the EU itself if it can’t show why cooperation makes people’s lives better
Europe is living through an autumn of unusual discontent. What protesters from Paris to Milan to Madrid share is a deepening anxiety about the future and a growing anger at the gap between what they expect from their governments and what they feel governments are delivering, whether the issue is unaffordable housing, stagnant wages, the spiralling cost of living or failing schools.
The electoral consequences of the failure to get a grip on this public anger are already with us. Spain goes to the polls next month in a snap election called after parliament voted down key housing reforms. France begins the process of electing a new president in April, while Poland, Italy and a string of smaller states will vote before the end of 2027. The stakes could not be higher.
Making innocent protesters liable for damage would be bad for rule of law and play into far-right hands, say opponents
Emmanuel Macron has been accused by trade unions of trying to curb the fundamental French right to protest as the government fast-tracks a bill to make protesters pay for damage caused by vandalism at street demonstrations even if they did not directly cause it themselves.
The French president, who leaves office next spring, has faced more than a month of protests in which high-school students have blockaded schools demanding a response to teacher absences, repairs to decrepit buildings and changes to the university applications platform.
They sought to counter far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is officially launching her bid for the presidency of the Republic from the city this weekend as the front-runner.
“I’m protesting against Le Pen, the thief. She stole 3 million euros from European taxpayers and is still running as a candidate. She should go to prison. It’s a disgrace,” said Bruno, a resident of Orleans, a city of 116,000 people.
The retiree recalled the corruption case involving Le Pen and her party, the National Rally (RN), which diverted 2.8 million euros from the European Parliament to fund party expenses, as courts ruled in the first and second instances. Nevertheless, Le Pen avoided prison because she appealed to the Supreme Court, the third and final level of judicial review in France.
« La France n'est pas résignée ».
Nous avons marché à Orléans pour une France antiraciste, antifasciste, anticapitaliste, résolument humaniste.
Mes pensées vont d’abord à la famille du défunt et aux blessés de l’attentat raciste, islamophobe et négrophobe de Trappes. Nous… pic.twitter.com/7R9GLTC5Z6
Bally Bagayoko’s text reads, “France does not resign. We march in Orleans for an anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-capitalist and decidedly humanist France.
My thoughts go first to the family of the deceased and to those injured in the racist, Islamophobic and negrophobic attack of Trappes. We also work for you.
We were 26,000 people in the streets to say it loud and clear: the extreme right has no place in the Republic. 26,000 people in addition to the large crowds mobilized today throughout France against the high cost of living.
The same people, the same fight: for dignity, equality and social justice. We should have been more. The comrades who arrived by bus were blocked and parked at the motorway toll, preventing them from joining a peaceful meeting. What a shame for the prefect. silenced. They will not make us retreat.”
The march, organized by about 50 groups, including the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), proceeded peacefully through the northern part of the city along a route imposed by authorities, who kept left-wing demonstrators as far as possible from far-right activists gathered in the southern part of the city.
Thousands of people marched peacefully in a festive atmosphere despite the cold and restrictions imposed by authorities, who have banned Sunday’s demonstration, a move criticized by human rights organizations.
“Macron resign, Le Pen to prison” was one of the most frequently chanted slogans on Saturday morning, along with “The people united will never be defeated” and the national anthem, “La Marseillaise.”
French authorities deployed 3,000 police officers to Orleans to ensure the orderly conduct of the protest and the National Rally congress. The march organizers also kept watch throughout the event to ensure no one caused damage.
“I’m fed up with the far right being normalized. Things go much better when the left is in power,” said Fanny, who came out to protest despite being ill.
🇫🇷 Thousands of anti-fascist protesters took to the streets of Orléans to demonstrate against a congress held by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party. pic.twitter.com/9R2zhEXuBZ
The march lasted nearly three hours, accompanied by electronic music, Brazilian-style percussion groups and political messages. Participants ranged from children to older adults and came from all backgrounds.
Among those attending the demonstration was Bally Bakayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis and a member of the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI). Dozens of people approached him to greet him, hug him and ask for selfies.
Over the past month, Bakayoko has become a symbol of the marches, particularly because of his support for young people’s demands and his efforts to position himself between them and police during baton and tear gas assaults at one of the mass protests that have put Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu under pressure.
The march was attended by Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure and CGT Secretary Sophie Binet. Although left-wing demonstrators mobilized peacefully, bars and restaurants in Orleans remained closed. Few businesses were open, even in Martroi Square. Those that were closed had covered their glass windows with boards and wooden panels.
“I trusted the left, and I know very well that we are capable of demonstrating calmly. What I was actually afraid of today was the far right,” said Juliette, a young doctor who took to the streets.
Quasi 800mila persone hanno partecipato oggi alle manifestazioni organizzate in tutta la Francia contro il caro-vita. Lo ha reso noto il sindacato Cgt, secondo cui nella sola capitale sono scese in piazza 250mila manifestanti. Una cifra superiore a quella comunicata dalla prefettura di polizia di Parigi, che ha stimato la partecipazione al corteo nella capitale in 110mila manifestanti. Secondo il ministero dell’Interno, sono stati complessivamente 410mila i manifestanti in tutto il Paese. Oggi erano oltre 70mila gli agenti schierati in tutto il Paese, 700 le forme di protesta annunciate. E non solo: oltre 30mila persone hanno manifestato a Orlèans, dove si teneva il congresso del Rassemblement National. Finora 135 persone sono state fermate.
A Parigi, dopo un corteo pacifico, si sono registrati scontri tra forze dell’ordine e manifestanti quando gran parte del corteo è arrivato a destinazione, alla Porte de Vincennes. Gas lacrimogeni e un idrante in azione per tentare di disperdere la folla, mentre i manifestanti, la maggior parte con il volto coperto da una maschera, gridano slogan ostili alla polizia. Fino all’arrivo del corteo, tutto si era svolto nella calma. Tensioni si sono registrate anche a Lione, dove 10.000 persone si sono riunite per manifestare nonostante il divieto della polizia in un ampio perimetro della città. Tafferugli anche a Marsiglia e Rennes, dove a fine manifestazione la polizia ha fatto uso di gas lacrimogeni. A Nantes gli agenti sono ricorsi agli idranti per disperdere raduni non autorizzati.
Schierati 70mila agenti. I gilet gialli annunciano 700 forme di protesta in tutto il Paese
I gilet gialli hanno organizzato 700 forme di protesta oggi in Francia. Secondo una mappa pubblicata sul loro sito Internet, hanno previsto azioni in 86 rotatorie, 21 aree di servizio, due depositi di carburante, 33 stazioni ferroviarie, tre porti, 17 ponti e 17 caselli autostradali. I principali musei di Parigi sono rimasti chiusi e le autorità hanno schierato un ingente contingente di polizia in vista di una nuova ondata di proteste previste per oggi in tutta la Francia, nella speranza di evitare il ripetersi dei violenti disordini della scorsa settimana, che hanno sconvolto il Paese. Il ministro dell’Interno Laurent Nuñez ha dichiarato che saranno dispiegati in tutto il Paese fino a 70mila agenti, affiancati da elicotteri, veicoli blindati e cannoni ad acqua. Si prevede nuovamente una partecipazione massiccia, dopo che la scorsa settimana oltre mezzo milione di persone sono scese in piazza.
Le proteste al congresso del partito di Marine Le Pen
Intanto si sono radunanti 11mila manifestanti (29mila per gli organizzatori) ad Orléans, nel centro della Francia, contro il congresso del Rassemblement National che si svolge in città oggi e domani, stando ai dati della Prefettura. Presenti anche Olivier Faure (Ps), Bally Bagayoko (Lfi) e Sophie Binet (Cgt). La prefettura precisa che la stima “può ancora cambiare”, dal momento che molte persone sono ancora in viaggio.
Il sindaco Serge Grouard ha annunciato stamattina l’instaurazione di un coprifuoco in tutto il comune le prossime due notti per i minorenni. “Questo provvedimento preventivo – ha dichiarato il sindaco – deriva dalla volontà di prevenire qualsiasi violazione dell’ordine pubblico, limitare i rischi di disordini e garantire la sicurezza delle persone in un contesto di raduni annunciati”.
France mobilizes 70,000 police and gendarmes amid fears of renewed unrest, while authorities restrict demonstrations and tighten security.
France has deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes ahead of nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, with authorities warning of a heightened risk of unrest after vandalism and looting damaged about 3,000 businesses the previous week.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned late Friday that the threat remained high, particularly from radical far-left groups and criminal elements operating alongside demonstrations called by trade unions, students and the Yellow Vest movement.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced a large-scale security operation to prevent further violence and looting.
“We will show no mercy to looters and troublemakers,” Nuñez declared. He has faced criticism from the left over police tactics and from the right for failing to prevent the previous week’s unrest.
Authorities have banned gatherings in numerous cities and restricted the routes of other demonstrations on security grounds, prompting criticism from trade unions and human rights organizations.
In major cities, trade union demonstrations were authorized on Saturday only in Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Lille, Mulhouse, Grenoble, Toulouse and Amiens.
In Paris, a last-minute change to the union march’s route sparked a dispute between police officials and organizers. Authorities cited the heightened threat following a racist attack on the outskirts of the capital the previous day as they redirected the march from Place de la Nation to Place d’Italie, keeping it away from the city center.
Several museums in the capital, including the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, will remain closed, as will the nearby Palace of Versailles. A nighttime curfew in the areas around Place de la République and Les Halles will also remain in force until Monday.
Banks and businesses in central Paris were boarding up shopfronts and windows late Friday and early Saturday in anticipation of possible vandalism, according to observations by Spanish news agency EFE.
Security concerns also extend to Orléans, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Paris, where the far-right National Rally (RN) is holding a congress to formally launch Marine Le Pen’s presidential candidacy, roughly six months before the election.
Authorities estimated that 11,000 people took part in a counter-demonstration in Orléans on Saturday against Le Pen’s party. Organized in opposition to racism, fascism and imperialism, the march proceeded peacefully in a festive atmosphere, according to EFE.
Photo: Orleans, France (October 24, 2026)
Protesters chanted slogans including “Macron resign, Le Pen to prison” and sang the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, as well as the Spanish-language protest song “The People United Will Never Be Defeated.”
Authorities deployed about 3,000 officers in Orléans to prevent clashes between demonstrators and attendees at the RN congress. The local prefecture authorized Saturday’s march but banned a separate demonstration planned for Sunday.
The security measures reflect the authorities’ efforts to prevent further disorder while allowing some demonstrations to proceed. Restrictions on public gatherings and the deployment of thousands of officers have shaped preparations for Saturday’s rallies across France.
Gunman opens fire from car in Trappes and Verrière, killing one and injuring five others, including a 12-year-old girl
Emmanuel Macron has condemned racism in French society after a gunman opened fire from a car west of Paris on Friday, killing one person, wounding a 12-year-old girl and injuring four others in what the president called a “racist terrorist attack”.
Macron arrived at the scene of the drive-by shooting in Trappes on Friday night, saying he was deeply saddened by what he called the “premeditated” attack. The 12-year-old girl, who was shot eight times, is being treated in hospital.
Nationalist leaders are framing unrest as consequence of failed liberal governance and open borders
Europe’s far-right leaders have jumped on the violence that rocked numerous cities last weekend, framing it as the inevitable consequence of failed liberal governance and open-border policies and insisting only they can restore law and order.
Months away from key elections in Spain, France and Italy, authoritarian nationalists are eager to weaponise the wave of street unrest, originating in peaceful protests over the cost of living and deteriorating public services but hijacked by violent rioters.
A little over a month ago, at a high school on the outskirts of Paris, a group of students blocked their school to protest the condition of the facilities and the lack of teachers. Within days, students from other schools joined in, first in Paris and then across the country, complaining of leaks in classrooms and even cockroaches, and of walls that are cracking. They are cold in the winter and hot in the spring. That image of public schools — long considered a pillar of the French Republic, but gradually falling apart — also illustrates the economic decline of recent years.
Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump are arsonists who play at being firefighters. Nigel Farage is finding that act harder to pull off in Andy Burnham’s Britain
An election where one side represents chaos will nearly always be won by the party that promises order instead. Public fatigue after years of turbulent Tory rule accounted for Labour’s 2024 landslide victory more than any policy in Keir Starmer’s manifesto. Across the Channel, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), is currently on course to win next year’s presidential poll with a pledge of “restored authority and security” for a country that has spent years cycling between enervating stasis and explosive crisis.
Le Pen has been boosted in recent days by scenes of city centres ablaze and shops being looted as student demonstrations mutated into riots. Street confrontation is a more standard feature of the political repertoire in France than in most settled democracies, but the destruction was disturbing by any measure.
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