PARIS, France – French authorities have banned or restricted protests across the country after last weekend’s demonstrations descended into the worst street violence seen in years.

President Emmanuel Macron announced curfews and security measures on Thursday, including bans on protests by “groups without legitimacy”. He made the announcement after meeting with key ministers and intelligence officials.

“The priority is a return to calm,” Macron said. He will chair a defence council meeting on Friday to decide the next steps ahead of nationwide demonstrations planned for Saturday.

The government is still dealing with the aftermath of 17 October, when mass demonstrations by more than 500 000 people against rising living costs turned violent. Clashes, widespread looting and vandalism of public buildings erupted across the country.

Macron’s government has admitted police lost control during the protests. Opposition candidates competing to replace him in presidential elections six months away claim authorities cannot or will not restore order.

Macron blamed the violence on organised groups. “The worst of the violence was led by organised ultra-left groups aiming to bring down the republic,” he said.

Students barred from Paris march

Paris police banned a Thursday protest organised by students, who had held four weeks of demonstrations before the 17 October rallies.

Coppelia Moreau, a university student leader, criticized the decision as lawyers requested a court injunction against the ban.

“The authorities are trying to make a distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ protesters,” Moreau told journalists. “What we are seeing is a government that doesn’t want any demonstrations at all. That goes against the right to demonstrate.”

Cities across France restrict demonstrations

Authorities declared a ban on all protests in Lyon on Saturday. France’s third-largest city saw 200 to 300 shops looted last weekend and a tourist office set on fire in what the mayor described as hours of chaos.

Other cities including Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre and Toulon issued bans on protests in their city centres.

Paris police said the Saturday march could start at Bastille in the east of the capital but banned protesters from heading into the city centre, where shops and major public buildings sit.

The Yellow Vest movement organising the cost-of-living rallies with unions rejected the restrictions.

“We won’t sign off on it,” said Benjamin Ball, who runs an online map showing planned demonstration locations for Saturday.

Arrests and political tension

The French government has projected a firm response to last weekend’s violence, though Macron has ruled out declaring a state of emergency.

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Wednesday that authorities have locked up 174 of the 2 500 people arrested since last weekend. More than 900 face prosecution.

On Thursday, prosecutors said they arrested a man (66) over the arson of Limoges’s 19th-century town hall last weekend. Authorities had already arrested a man in his 30s on Tuesday for the same crime.

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Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader whom polls show as the frontrunner ahead of April-May presidential elections, has accused Macron’s centrist government of being too soft and lacking authority.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, a far-left candidate whom the government has criticized for not condemning the protest violence, blamed authorities’ “non-stop brutal repression” for the unrest.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu hosted a meeting on Thursday with top officials from France’s main parties to hear grievances and seek cooperation. While most parties sent their leaders, Le Pen’s National Rally sent a lower-ranking official.

Lecornu plans to meet with mayors next, followed by student groups on Monday.

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