PARIS, October 20, 2026 (DAILYNWZ) — Curfews in violence-hit areas of France’s largest cities helped ease unrest overnight, the government said Tuesday, offering a brief reprieve as new demonstrations planned for the weekend threaten to reignite a crisis fueled by anger over living costs and deteriorating public services.
The unrest, among France’s worst in years, has exposed gaps in the government’s response after rioters and looters swept through central areas of Paris, Marseille and Lyon following demonstrations. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said targeted curfews had helped restore calm and could be extended through the week where necessary.
Police cleared and guarded Place de la République in central Paris overnight, with a helicopter patrolling overhead. In Lille, where restrictions applied only to minors, officers checked identities in the city centre. Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan said a curfew for minors would begin Tuesday night in commercial districts hardest hit by the weekend’s violence.
The protests have brought together several sources of discontent. Student strikes and demonstrations over declining education standards and deteriorating school facilities have merged with wider frustration over rising prices and concerns that healthcare, housing and welfare services are failing to meet public needs.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 149 people arrested over the weekend were being held in detention awaiting trial. He separately said about 2,500 people remained in custody for questioning.
The unrest has also unsettled financial markets and intensified political tensions ahead of a presidential election scheduled in six months. French government bond yields rose further on Tuesday, with the yield on 10-year debt reaching its highest level in 24 years amid fears that renewed protests could deepen instability.
Seeking to shift attention back to the government’s budget bill, Lecornu has invited parties from both the governing camp and the opposition to consultations on Thursday. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally said it would send a representative, while it remained unclear whether the hard-left France Unbowed party, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, would attend.
For now, the relative calm offers the government a much-needed pause after weeks of demonstrations that have strained police resources. But fresh protests are planned for Saturday. France’s main student union, UNEF, said on social media that it would maintain pressure on President Emmanuel Macron and his government to address what students describe as a broken and underfunded education system.
Groups identifying themselves as “Yellow Vests” have also called for scattered protests against soaring fuel costs. The movement emerged in 2018 in opposition to planned petrol tax increases, triggering months of road blockades and street violence.
France’s main labour unions, including the CGT, have not joined the calls for Saturday’s demonstrations.
The unrest has also spread beyond France. In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet was due to discuss a response to two days of violence in Milan and clashes in other northern cities, including Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said 500 soldiers would be sent to help “defend Milan.” Some shops in the city’s main shopping district boarded up windows or removed goods from displays after looting.
In Albania, protesters, many of them students, took to the streets of the capital, Tirana, for a seventh consecutive day against Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government.