France announces curfews as government grapples with unrest

France announced partial curfews in Paris and other cities on Monday after weekend demonstrations over soaring prices degenerated into some of the worst street violence in recent years. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu did not rule out imposing a state of emergency after the interior minister said police had “lost control”. Tourists in Paris had a taste of the disruption on Monday when they found the Louvre closed because of a small group of student protesters. Facing accusations that it failed to anticipate and respond to the violence, the government has vowed to re-establish order, while officials scrambled to contain public anger. The unrest , erupting just six months before France elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, threatened to continue, with organisers calling for a new round of protests next Saturday.

Authorities said partial curfews would be enforced from Monday evening to Tuesday morning in a number of cities including Paris, Lille and Lyon, to protect businesses. In the capital, a curfew was ordered from 11pm (2am PKT), while demonstrations were banned from 8pm. “I’m absolutely determined to restore public order”, Lecornu said. Other European countries have also seen demonstrations over rising prices, with smaller clashes breaking out in Milan and Belgium over the weekend and protests simmering in Spain and Portugal. Some half a million people turned out across France on Saturday to denounce the surging cost of living, a culmination of four weeks of protests that began with students demanding better conditions at high schools. What started as peaceful demonstrations descended into violence in many cities, as masked groups attacked law enforcement, broke into public buildings and set some ablaze, looted shops, and set fire to cars, bicycles and…