France will deploy 70,000 security personnel across the country on Saturday to prevent possible violence during planned demonstrations and gatherings coinciding with Halloween, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has said.
Nunez described October 31 as a day of “very high risk” for public order, warning that security forces would respond firmly to any disturbances.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he said several radical groups had used social media to call for potentially violent gatherings in different parts of the country.
He said the authorities were particularly concerned about possible disorder on Saturday evening, after the conclusion of more mainstream demonstrations.
“We are seeing many calls for rallies coming from the labour movement, the radicalised far left, and certain radicalised ‘Yellow Vests’ websites, urging people to attend rallies on public streets starting at 8:00 p.m. on October 31 in many cities across France,” Nunez said.
He added that the calls were accompanied by messages he described as radical.
The planned deployment follows demonstrations last Saturday, when 410,000 people took part in marches across France, according to the Interior Ministry.
Authorities also deployed 70,000 police officers during those protests, helping to prevent a repeat of the looting and vandalism that affected several cities on October 17.
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Labour leaders and students have called for further demonstrations on October 31 and a nationwide strike on November 5.
They say growing dissatisfaction over wages, the cost of living and public services has spread beyond the student movement that initially mobilised last month.
Nunez said the response of security forces to any violence or public disorder on Saturday would be “extremely firm”.
