Follow-up: Paris police impose overnight curfew on République and Les Halles as localized curfews take effect across France

Paris — Paris police on Monday (October 19) issued an overnight curfew order covering two areas of the French capital: the Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district, where no one may enter or remain from 11 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday, with gatherings and demonstrations banned from 8 p.m. According to The Associated Press, the police said in a statement that the order aims to protect "people and property from the violence and looting." It is the first concrete arrangement announced in Paris after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu earlier on Monday called for "very limited" and "localized" curfews, saying details would be announced later Monday after consultations with mayors.

Curfew arrangements were also put in place in other French cities on Monday. CNN, citing its affiliate BFMTV, reported that in Lyon gatherings on public roads were prohibited from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, followed by a curfew in parts of the city from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Marseille had already banned all gatherings and demonstrations from noon to 8 p.m. on Monday. The Associated Press reported that several towns in the northern Nord department, including Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain, imposed a curfew for minors under 18 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for three nights starting Monday, and that Nice, on the French Riviera, imposed an overnight curfew for minors in its downtown area from 9 p.m., according to the city's mayor.

The French government on Monday also revised upward its tally of damage from the weekend rioting. Reuters reported in a Monday explainer that the government says more than 3,000 shops were pillaged or damaged across France, up from the hundreds cited earlier by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, and that some 2,400 people were arrested over the weekend. Reuters said the government is putting in place state-financed furlough measures to help employers avoid layoffs and funds to help affected companies meet immediate cash-flow needs, with full details yet to be provided, and that insurers are also expected to cover some of the damage. The government has also said it will increase police numbers on the ground, especially for next weekend if protests resume.

The mood in Paris remained tense during the day on Monday: USA Today reported that peaceful protesters blocked the entrance to the Louvre Museum, barring tourists from entering. The protests began as weeks of student demonstrations over education funding and grew into a broader movement over the cost of living and declining public services, six months ahead of France's next presidential election. (GSM, based on reporting by The Associated Press and Reuters)

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：巴黎共和国广场（Place de la République）与广场中央的共和国纪念碑，本次宵禁覆盖地点之一（资料照片，2025年8月摄）。照片：Dr. Thomas Liptak，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。Photo: The Place de la République and the Monument à la République in Paris, one of the locations covered by the curfew (file photo, August 2025). Photo by Dr. Thomas Liptak, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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