France to Deploy 70,000 Officers as Louvre Closes for Saturday Protests

PARIS — France will deploy about 70,000 police officers and gendarmes on Saturday, 24 October, as authorities prepare for renewed demonstrations over living costs following a weekend of fires, looting and attacks on public buildings.

The Louvre and several other major Paris museums will close, while Art Basel Paris has cancelled its weekend programme, extending the disruption from the streets into the capital’s cultural institutions and international art trade.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannons would support the nationwide operation. Elite police units will also help protect public buildings, including town halls, with officers instructed to respond rapidly to violence.

Students, members of the CGT trade union and activists associated with the Yellow Vest movement are expected to participate in Saturday’s demonstrations. Their mobilisation follows protests last weekend that escalated into some of France’s most serious unrest in years, with shops ransacked, windows smashed and demonstrators clashing with police.

Nuñez said authorities were concerned about online messages encouraging further attacks.

“There have been numerous calls from radical far-left groups on social media to commit acts of violence and vandalism,” he told a news conference. “There have also been renewed calls for looting, with those messages clearly being spread by rioters.”

He warned that officers would take a firm approach to arrests and that people involved in violence would face legal consequences.

“We will be absolutely uncompromising,” he said.

The Interior Ministry’s published instructions give local authorities a detailed framework for assessing demonstrations. Prefects have been told to examine organisers’ ability to provide responsible contacts and adequate stewards, consider previous incidents and assess risks to businesses along proposed routes.

Routes are to be discussed with mayors, and prefects may impose alternatives where negotiations do not produce an acceptable arrangement. Demonstrations could be prohibited in areas where officials judge there is a risk of renewed looting or destruction.

The ministry also ordered checks at railway stations and on transport routes to identify equipment that could be used in violence. Specialist police and gendarmerie units will be deployed, while prosecutors are being involved in preparations to process arrests and evidence.

The same instructions state that police use of force must remain proportionate and comply with the law.

Protest organisers, meanwhile, are emphasising the grievances that brought people onto the streets.

The CGT’s Paris branch has called for a march from Bastille towards Nation, starting at 2pm on Saturday. In its published announcement, the union said a movement that began among secondary-school pupils over conditions in education had grown to include university students and broader demands concerning the cost of living and public services.

The union said it intended to continue supporting young people, advancing those demands and defending the right to demonstrate. Youth organisations and a regional alliance of unions are participating in the call.

The involvement of Yellow Vest activists adds another constituency to the mobilisation. Their demonstrations against social and economic inequality shook France in 2018 and 2019, and their participation now brings that earlier protest movement into the latest confrontation over household costs and government policy.

President Emmanuel Macron has moved to tighten restrictions on demonstrations after acknowledging failures to anticipate last weekend’s violence. Left-wing parties have challenged the government’s emphasis on policing, arguing that it must respond to the movement’s social demands, Le Monde reported.

In Paris, the decision to close major museums reflects concern about protecting visitors, staff and collections during another potentially volatile day.

The Culture Ministry told The Associated Press that the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais would close on Saturday. It asked institutions under its authority to take whatever measures were necessary to safeguard people and artworks.

The Louvre has separately confirmed the closure on its official website. Visitors who booked admission for Saturday will receive automatic refunds, the museum said.

The announcement removes one of the capital’s principal attractions from weekend itineraries and gives ticket holders a clear response to the cancellation: the museum says their bookings will be reimbursed automatically.

At the Grand Palais, Art Basel Paris faces a more extensive interruption. Its public programme had been scheduled to run from Friday through Sunday, but the venue has confirmed that the fair will remain closed on both Saturday, 24 October, and Sunday, 25 October. Friday’s opening is going ahead.

That leaves exhibitors and visitors with a sharply shortened opportunity to attend one of the international art market’s major gatherings. This year’s edition brings together 211 exhibitors from 41 countries and territories.

The cancellation was announced on Thursday, after the fair’s preview programme had already begun.

“This decision has not been taken lightly, and the safety of everyone involved in the fair remains our utmost priority,” organisers said.

The fair’s scale means the consequences extend beyond Paris-based galleries. According to Art Basel’s exhibition announcement, more than 60 participating galleries operate spaces in France, while others have travelled from across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Nearly 30 galleries are participating in its Paris edition for the first time.

Some collectors and exhibitors said the security concerns justified ending the programme early.

Saloni Doshi, an art collector who travelled from India, told AP she had become worried after witnessing fires and frightened people during the previous Saturday’s unrest. Friends had called to ask whether Paris was safe, and she supported the organisers’ decision.

Antoine Donzeaud and Elisa Rigoulet, owners of the gallery exo exo, also backed the closure. In a message to AP, they described it as reasonable in the circumstances and acknowledged the urgency of the social demands being expressed across France.

Other exhibitors questioned the loss of Sunday as well as Saturday. Gallery owner Nathalie Obadia told Le Monde that weekend visitors included collectors travelling from other French regions, Belgium and Germany. The newspaper reported that some exhibitors had paid more than €100,000 for their stands.

French art dealers’ representative Philippe Charpentier recognised the safety concerns but stressed the importance of Saturday trading. Dealer Georges-Philippe Vallois warned that the cancellation would be particularly difficult for younger galleries.

Authorities are also preparing for a major demonstration in Orléans, south of Paris, where Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is holding a two-day congress ahead of the presidential election in spring 2027.

About 50 organisations have called for an anti-far-right protest alongside the gathering. The coalition includes trade unions, left-wing political parties, student organisations and anti-racism groups.

Hugues Moutouh, the prefect of Loiret, said between 20,000 and 30,000 demonstrators were expected from across France. That is a forecast of attendance, with the demonstration still to take place.

Le Pen accused the organisations involved of trying to “disrupt a political party’s democratic congress” during an appearance on Franceinfo. However, she said she had “no concerns” about security because the government had recognised the need for measures allowing the congress to proceed safely.

The Orléans mobilisation adds a separate political confrontation to a day already dominated by demonstrations over living costs. Police will be tasked with securing the party gathering while managing the substantial counter-demonstration expected nearby.

Further talks are planned after the weekend. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is expected to bring together representatives of students, teachers, trade unions, employers, local authorities and parliament on Monday, 26 October, to discuss the demands behind the protests, according to Le Monde.