Posted by Chinenye on Thu 22nd Oct, 2026 - tori.ng
France is facing fresh trouble as protests turn violent, shops are looted and public buildings are damaged. Police have now banned demonstrations in key parts of Paris.
(Protesters. Photo Credit: X/Instablog)
Police have banned protests in parts of Paris on Thursday, October 22, as France gets ready for more demonstrations.
Days of student and other rallies turned into some of the worst street violence the country has seen in years.
The ban runs from 8am to 8pm.
It covers key places in the capital, including the Elysee presidential palace, both houses of parliament, the Louvre, the Champs Elysees, the Bastille and Republique squares, and the Chatelet Les Halles shopping area.
Looters hit that shopping area hard over the weekend.
Masked youths clashed with police, looted shops and damaged public buildings.
The government has admitted that it lost control for a time.
The unrest has hurt France's image abroad and shaken financial markets, just six months before presidential elections.
President Emmanuel Macron has criticised leaders who are using the chaos for political gain.
He did not name anyone, but his remarks were seen as aimed at US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who are both in election campaigns.
Macron said some leaders had repeated AI generated images as if they were real.
He also said there was no sign of foreign interference, and he called claims that France had been invaded by migrants and Islamists totally false.
Trump has linked the unrest to immigration, migrants and jihadists, and he praised far right leader Marine Le Pen as a conservative voice.
Le Pen, who leads the polls for next year's presidential race, called Macron's comments conspiracy talk.
She said the scenes shown last Saturday were real and blamed 10 years of Macron's rule.
Macron said he is in control and is doing his job.
He said he is at his post.