Paris Bans the Weekend.

On Thursday, on the eve of Saturday's nationwide demonstrations, Emmanuel Macron announced that "illegitimate" protests — those organized by what he called "individuals or groups with no legitimate authority" — would be banned in the coming days. The announcement came after a meeting with intelligence chiefs, and Macron pinned last weekend's devastation on what he described as "'seditious' ultra-left groups and vandals." Last Saturday was, by every account, some of France's worst urban unrest in years: riots and looting on the fringes of nationwide protests over the cost of living, with shops ransacked across the country.

The bans are rolling out city by city. Local authorities told Reuters that all protests planned for Saturday in Lyon — France's second-largest city — have been banned outright. In Paris, central metro stations were shuttered by transit authorities in anticipation of unauthorized gatherings, large gatherings were banned in tourist areas including the Champs-Élysées, and a Thursday student demonstration was initially banned (judges later overturned it). Eleven cities including Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Grenoble, Le Havre and Rouen have banned demonstrations in central districts this weekend, and curfews have been imposed in a number of cities; in Marseille, public transport will shut down on Saturday in an attempt to prevent looters reaching shopping areas. Union-organized demonstrations may still go ahead, but only on diverted, alternate routes. The interior ministry said 20% more police would be deployed Saturday than last weekend — and 2,700 people have been detained since last Saturday, according to the justice minister.

Meanwhile, Paris businesses are preparing for war. Shopkeepers have begun boarding up their windows, and residents are arming themselves with "pepper-gel" self-defence weapons. One gun-shop owner in a central Paris district that was ransacked last weekend, Yves Gollety of the Armurerie de la Bourse, told The Times that demand has risen to "eight to ten times what it was" — customers who say they no longer trust the police to protect their shops, businesses and homes. The government, for its part, has admitted police "lost control" as thousands of shops were looted in some of France's worst street violence in decades. Luxury group Hermès says it has stepped up security measures at its French stores. Art Basel Paris is closing Friday, two days early, after police warned protesters could target it; the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée Picasso stay closed on Saturday.

Saturday's marches are still coming: France's main student union, UNEF, has called for rallies, and the Yellow Vest movement has filed plans for a march through central Paris. The rioters set out to bring down the Republic, in the government's telling; what they've brought down so far is everyone's right to protest on Saturday. Congratulations to the arsonists — the weekend is officially cancelled.

The underlying reporting is filed in the Evidence Locker: Reuters (Oct. 22, 2026); The Times (Oct. 22, 2026); Fox News (Oct. 22, 2026).