France to impose new curfews where necessary: PM

France will impose new curfews in areas where needed on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said, adding that the measures introduced in several cities the previous day had “helped keep the night calm”. France was rocked on Saturday by some of its worst rioting in recent years, just six months before the country elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron. Accused of failing to anticipate and contain the street violence, the government has pledged to restore order, and had announced partial curfews in Paris and some other cities on Monday. “Targeted curfews have contributed to calm overnight,” Lecornu wrote on X. “Tonight new curfews will be decided where the situation requires it. These decisions will be made on the ground, by the prefects, in coordination with the mayors,” he said. Police confirmed the night had passed without major incidents across France.

Several cities, including Paris, the southwestern city of Bordeaux and Nice on the French Riviera, introduced partial curfews on Monday in response to urban unrest that followed weeks of student demonstrations over poor learning conditions in high schools. This photograph shows a fire burning and destroying the city hall after a group of individuals forced entry into the building during ongoing protest action against the “high cost of living”, in Limoges, central France on Oct 17, 2026. — AFP/File While some restrictions, such as those in Paris, initially applied only for the night from Monday to Tuesday, others, particularly in Bordeaux and Nice, were set to remain in force for several days. During the night, a helicopter flew over the French capital’s Place de la Republique, one of the epicentres of the unrest, sweeping a powerful searchlight across the square to monitor compliance with the curfew. In…