Protests in France widened on Thursday as thousands of demonstrators gathered in Paris after an administrative court overturned a police ban on public gatherings in Paris. The Paris Police Prefecture banned public gathering on Thursday citing the risk of street violence after groups of masked youth clashed with officers, looted shops and torched cars last weekend.

The court ruling was not immediately made public. However, demonstrators gathered in large numbers and agreed to hold a stationary protest to reduce the risk of violence.

France is seeing one of its worst protests in recent years, which began with students taking to streets over school conditions. The protest escalated into a larger movement around low public spending and high cost of living.

Illegitimate demonstrations will be banned: Macron French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that “illegitimate” demonstrations will be banned in the coming days, directly attributing last weekend’s severe riots and looting to “seditious” ultra-left groups and vandals.

Speaking after a high-level briefing with intelligence chiefs and senior cabinet ministers, Macron clarified that lawful rallies organised by established trade unions will still be permitted, though authorities may re-route them away from commercial districts to protect local businesses. In Lyon, France’s second-largest city, local officials have already implemented a blanket ban on all planned Saturday protests.

2,700 people detained in a week On Thursday, French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed that 2,700 people have been detained since Saturday in connection with widespread riots and looting across the country. Speaking in an interview with French news channel LCI, Darmanin detailed the scale of the police response as law enforcement acts to restore order amid the ongoing unrest. A third consecutive night of local curfews passed without major incidents in areas affected by the violence.

Activists to hold major demonstrations French authorities are preparing for large-scale demonstrations on Saturday as trade union activists and “yellow vest” protesters plan to join the ongoing rallies. France’s main student union, UNEF, has called for rallies on Saturday, while the Yellow Vest movement, the anti-establishment force that emerged in 2018, has filed plans for a march through central Paris.

In response to recent violence and damage to public buildings, local officials have banned marches in several cities, including Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced a major security operation to maintain law and order. Union representatives stated that recent talks with the Prime Minister yielded no concrete solutions, leading them to call on public and private sector employees to join a ‘national day of action on November 5.’Protesting high school and university student groups said they will continue to mobilise, even though the autumn school break started this week.

Indian embassy issues safety advisory amid protests in France, urges nationals to remain vigilant Macron accuses ‘leaders across Atlantic’ French President Emmanuel Macron claimed on Wednesday that foreign political figures, including ‘leaders across the Atlantic’, are attempting to exploit France’s ongoing ‘tense climate’. The statement follows as US President Donald Trump hit at Macron, saying, “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon” and that French President Emmanuel Macron should have shut his borders years ago.

Macron said that US President Donald Trump has leveraged the present conditions in France to rally his supporters in the US amid the mid-term elections, issuing unsubstantiated claims attributing the rioting and violence to Muslim migrants.

President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that foreign leaders — including those “on the other side of the Atlantic” — were seeking to exploit France’s tense social climate for political gain following a weekend of street violence and looting.

Protests over soaring living costs have led to widespread rioting and looting that have drawn worldwide attention and shocked many French citizens. U.S. President Donald Trump has used the violence to rally his political supporters, making unsubstantiated claims that Muslim migrants are responsible for the unrest.

October 21, 2026 How France protests started The demonstrations initially erupted last month at a high school in Creteil, south-east of Paris, in response to severe staff shortages. The movement quickly escalated as class strikes, blockades, and rallies spread from Parisian suburbs to towns across France.

High school students spearheaded the protests to highlight issues like underfunded schools, crumbling facilities, and acute teacher shortages in low-income neighbourhoods, alongside calls to reform the university admissions system.