Follow-Up: Marseille Bans All Public Gatherings and Demonstrations from Noon to 8 p.m. on Oct. 19
Marseille — The Bouches-du-Rhône police prefecture announced on the morning of October 19 that all public gatherings and demonstrations would be banned throughout Marseille from noon to 8 p.m. that day. Reuters and France Bleu, part of France's public broadcasting system, reported that the order covers the entire municipality of Marseille, rather than only the city center or selected districts.
The ban followed severe unrest in Marseille during weekend protests. Demonstrations across France on October 17 over the rising cost of living and demands to improve public services partly turned into looting, destruction and clashes with police. In Marseille, protesters entered City Hall; Mayor Benoît Payan said a table was overturned, tiles were broken and a bust of Marianne was damaged. The Bouches-du-Rhône police prefecture previously said more than 30,000 people took part in looting in Marseille, including about 8,000 people it described as rioters; 99 people were placed in custody for acts directly linked to the riots, and 118 law-enforcement officers were injured.
In a national address on the evening of October 18, President Emmanuel Macron said prefects could work with mayors to ban specific gatherings when necessary to protect cities, public buildings and businesses. He also ordered a review of whether intelligence gathering and advance preparations had failed before the protests turned violent. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez was scheduled to travel to Marseille on the afternoon of October 19. Interior Ministry figures put nationwide participation in the October 17 protests at about 550,000, with nearly 2,400 arrests and 997 police officers and gendarmes injured.
Marseille is France's second-largest city. The October 19 ban runs from noon to 8 p.m. local time and applies to all gatherings and demonstrations across the municipality. (GSM, from Reuters, France Bleu and Le Monde reporting)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：法国马赛市政厅（资料照片，2018年8月摄）；该建筑在10月17日抗议中被示威者闯入并受损。照片：Bjs，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。Photo: Marseille City Hall (file photo, August 2018), which protesters entered and damaged during the October 17 protests. Photo by Bjs, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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