Major museums in Paris closed and authorities deployed a sizable police force for a round of new protests Saturday across France, hoping to prevent a repeat of last week’s violent unrest that shocked the country. 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 centers. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said as many as 70,000 officers will be deployed nationwide, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons.
Read moreFrance to deploy 70,000 police officers as students call for fresh protests Saturday A massive turnout is expected again after more than half a million took to the streets last week. Major museums including the Louvre, Orsay Museum, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais – where a major Cézanne exhibit is on display – are closed Saturday. Art Basel, one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art fairs, opened to the public Friday, but only for the day, with the threat of unrest prompting organizers to cancel the weekend program.
Parisian shopkeepers have been barricading their stores all week. Near Place de la République in Paris, one of last weekend’s hot spots, a bank branch and other businesses were boarded up with wooden panels to deter potential looters. Following the unrest, Paris police prefect Patrice Faure urged Parisian shopkeepers to hire security guards.
He later clarified that protecting business owners and their establishments is the responsibility of the government. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading.
To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Some 3,000 shops across France were damaged or looted last weekend. Protest marches are scheduled in Paris and Marseille, but some other rallies, including in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, have been banned by local authorities.
Cities outside Paris were hit hard by the unrest. In Limoges, a suspected arson nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall. Trade unions have criticized the bans, calling them violations of freedom of expression, which is protected by the constitution.
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