French police reorganize to prevent acts of vandalism on Halloween night

French law enforcement agencies are reorganizing their security apparatus in several cities across the country to prevent acts of vandalism, similar to those seen during the October 17 protests, from occurring on this eve of All Souls’ Day.

Following the third national protest against the rising cost of living and in defense of public services, France’s Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, warned that they are “firmly waiting for those who want to come and confront us tonight“.

“The security apparatus has been completely reorganized to deal with potential vandals, looters, or people who want to stage protest demonstrations,” the minister warned.

It is a device “designed to be mobile, reactive and divisible, with police units capable of intervening wherever necessary“, added the minister, after warning that “gatherings will be dispersed and, if people remain in the place, they will be arrested“.

The Government has arranged an exceptional police operation of 70,000 agents throughout the national territory, with police officers, gendarmes, mobile units, armored vehicles, drones, and helicopters.

As of 9:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT), 565 arrests had been announced throughout France, a figure that is shaping up to be lower at the end of the day than those declared on October 17 (2,628) and the 24th of the same month (1,314).

Nuñez commented that officers monitored up to 40,000 people across the country (15,000 in the Paris region) and once again pointed to “far-left” groups as responsible for the attacks on the police.

Among them, the high-ranking official cited the one suffered by a gendarme from the mobile unit, who was slightly injured after a Molotov cocktail was thrown, after images of the officer with part of his equipment on fire went viral. The minister described the event as an “attempted murder”.

Two of the cities causing the most concern tonight are Paris and Marseille, the two largest in the country.

In the capital, fifty metro stations remained closed and a curfew has been established starting at 11:00 PM (21:00 GMT) in two of its commercial hubs, the Place de République and the Châtelet-Les Halles area.

Several social media accounts encouraged people to demonstrate in some of those areas and to carry out a night “of darkness”.

Any other protest that was not the one authorized this Saturday is also banned. The only one in Paris, under the umbrella of the unions, took place between Porte de Bagnolet and Porte de Charenton.

“The day is far from over. That means the level of vigilance is not going to drop,” the minister warned.

Incidents at the end of the demonstrations occurred in cities such as Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Lyon, Nantes, or Toulouse, although, in general, participation in the mobilizations throughout the country—about 320,000 people, according to official figures—decreased compared to those of last Saturday, and especially in comparison to those of October 17.