France restricts protests after violence; demonstrators vow to defy ban

The French government has imposed full or partial bans on demonstrations in major cities to prevent further violence, announcing that protests by anyone other than trade unions will be restricted on Saturday, when large-scale rallies are planned.

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that the "overall recommendation" was for there to be no protests in the coming days, according to BBC and other outlets, after he chaired a security meeting with intelligence chiefs. "If those who want to continue demonstrating are unions, the prefect will offer an alternative route," Macron said. "If they are not unions, they will be banned as much as possible."

Macron said restoring calm was his top priority. He also said he would chair a security meeting with key cabinet ministers Friday to decide on "next steps" in response to nationwide protests planned for after Saturday.

Macron again blamed far-left groups for the violence that erupted Saturday, saying there had been "political and violence-inciting acts by far-left groups intent on bringing down the republic."

Local authorities had already moved to ban protests in their jurisdictions. Planned demonstrations in Paris, Lyon, Lille, Grenoble, Toulon and Rouen were prohibited Thursday.

Paris police banned gatherings from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. around key state institutions — including the Elysee Palace and both chambers of parliament — as well as the Louvre, the Champs-Elysees, Place de la Bastille, Place de la Republique and Les Halles.

A police source said the Paris ban was issued because organizers were "unable to prevent acts of violence and vandalism." Lyon also banned a march planned by the National Union of Students of France, citing "serious concerns about public order given the current situation."

Paris and Lyon had been under partial overnight curfews for three consecutive nights beginning Monday. Marseille and Lyon — France's second- and third-largest cities after Paris — announced full bans on all protests Saturday.

The Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, of which Lyon is the capital, said in a statement that the prefect had decided to ban all demonstrations in the city of Lyon on Saturday "in light of the events of the 17th."

Student groups have called for a major demonstration Saturday, and the Yellow Vest movement, which has joined the protests, said it would march in Paris that day.

The government said it would respond forcefully. Jean-Didier Berge, deputy interior minister, told BFMTV that authorities planned to deploy 20 percent more security personnel than the previous week. About 60,000 police and gendarmes were mobilized for the Oct. 17 demonstrations.

Despite the ban, thousands took to the streets in Paris on Thursday, according to AP and France 24. Organizers said a court had granted their request to overturn the Paris police ban, though details of the ruling were not immediately available.

The largely young crowd marched peacefully in southeastern Paris under heavy police presence, chanting slogans. One banner read: "Even without tear gas, our future looks bleak."

AP and AFP noted that the right to protest is constitutionally guaranteed in France, and that the bans have drawn criticism for infringing on that right.

Demonstrators condemned the restrictions. Labor activist Gael Quirante said: "The right to protest must be upheld. The government offers no solutions — only repression and brutality." University student Mathi Aversanc said: "We will keep protesting, keep organizing and assert our right to demonstrate."

Clashes between protesters and police are widely anticipated Saturday.

Paris police said demonstrators would be permitted to march from Place de la Bastille through eastern Paris on Saturday but would not be allowed into the city center, where shops and public facilities are concentrated. The Yellow Vest movement, which co-organized the march with unions, said it "cannot accept" those terms, AFP reported.

Anxiety is mounting among institutions and businesses despite the government's hard line. The French Culture Ministry announced that major Paris museums — including the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay — would close Saturday, and Art Basel Paris said it would end its run Friday, two days ahead of schedule.

Luxury boutiques and other shops in central Paris have been boarding up their windows and stepping up security in anticipation of vandalism and looting.

France's government bonds have fallen in value day after day as fiscal uncertainty compounds the country's political and social turmoil. The yield on France's 10-year government bond climbed as high as 5.145 percent during trading Thursday before easing slightly to 5.11 percent — still its highest level since 2002. Reuters reported that French 10-year yields surpassed their US counterpart for the first time since 2013.

German bonds rose as investors sought safe-haven assets, pushing the spread between French and German 10-year yields to 1.78 percentage points — the widest since the eurozone debt crisis of 2011.