France will deploy about 70,000 police nationwide and some of Paris' major museums will close Saturday as the country braces for a fresh wave of protests after looting and unrest erupted on the sidelines of demonstrations a week ago.
Protests are expected across France on Saturday, although several cities have banned demonstrations or forced them to change their planned routes to protect shops and public buildings, and forecast heavy rain and high winds could dampen turnout.
Demonstrations are expected in several other countries this weekend, triggered by a broader, continent-wide wave of discontent over declining public services, housing affordability, public sector budget cuts and the spiralling cost of living.
With the government seemingly unable to respond to students’ demands, the movement has morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs, just months before the vote to choose Macron’s successor.
Scenes of looting, burned-out cars and attacks on public buildings left the impression that the government had lost control, as groups of masked vandals targeted businesses in Paris and other city centres.