French prefects told to consider bringing in curfews to prevent further riots and looting

France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has instructed prefects to consider imposing "partial and localised curfews" in some city centres.

The announcement came following a crisis meeting this morning in response to widespread violence, looting and riots following largely peaceful protests across France on October 17 attended by some 550,000 people.

“The implementation of curfews seems to me to be best suited to the situation we face,” said Mr Lecornu at a press briefing this morning (October 19).

Mr Lecornu went on to describe the riots as being “geographically very varied”, with city centres the most commonly affected.

He cited certain “zones” of Paris that could face curfew measures - particularly locations that are repeatedly targeted during riots, such as Les Halles, as well as areas that have symbolic status such as place de la République. 

He also said that “a fairly accurate breakdown of what the prefects have decided” will be announced by the Interior Ministry later this afternoon.

Mr Lecornu said that restoring public order “is an absolute priority, because it is out of the question to allow this constant chaos to take hold,” and spoke of striking a “balance” to “ensure that civil liberties are not violated.”

Faced with “organised disorder”, he also promised “a large-scale criminal response”. 

“We are seeing a number of arrests leading to police custody. These are now being processed, with a high rate of criminal prosecution - standing at almost 80%,” said Mr Lecornu. 

Mr Lecornu highlighted that two-thirds of those involved in the riots were adults, and almost all were men. 

Nearly 200 investigators from the Paris police prefecture alone will be analysing images and video footage from the riots to identify those who were not wearing masks to hide their identity. 

Rallies banned in Marseille

During a televised speech on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that prefects would “take the necessary decisions” to protect towns and cities, going as far as to ban certain gatherings if necessary.

In Marseille, gatherings and demonstrations have been banned from 12:00-20:00 today (October 19), announced the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefect on X.

City bikes and scooters have also been removed from public spaces in the city centre until further notice, “in order to minimise the risk of damage or fire.”

“The situation in Marseille city centre is extremely serious. Last night’s violence was appalling, and its consequences are absolutely devastating for residents and shopkeepers,” the city’s mayor Benoît Payan wrote on X.

Reports suggest some 30,000 looters targeted Marseille’s city centre on Saturday night, with police forces making 101 arrests, comprising 74 adults and 27 minors.