On Monday in Marseille, President Emmanuel Macron announced that his administration would soon present “strong measures” intended to ease weeks of unrest across France, and he warned that rallies planned for the coming Saturday were risky. He said protest routes would again be kept away from city centers, a precaution he linked to preserving public order.
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Security weekend: Curfews helped preserve a degree of order during the Oct. 24 demonstrations, when 70,000 officers were fielded nationwide and 1,435 people were arrested. Maud Bregeon, the government’s spokeswoman, said on RTL:
“The state prevailed this weekend. The state was strong,”
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on BFM that more disruption was likely on Oct. 31:
“Halloween evening is traditionally always a bit lively,”
he said, adding:
“We expect it to be complicated again.”
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Marseille tribute: Before Macron reached Marseille, the Elysee Palace said he meant to
“pay tribute to and thank the internal security forces that helped restore republican order”
in the country’s second city, after demonstrators briefly entered the city hall on Oct. 17. A presidential aide said Macron wished to show that
“the state is present, standing firm and fulfilling its mission to protect.”
Macron admitted that authorities had
“not anticipated at all”
how large the Oct. 17 mobilization would be; the demonstrations turned violent and led to looting in several big cities, fueling claims that the government had lost its grip on the streets.
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Platforms and far-right groups: Macron argued that social networks were
“damaging our democracies” by “bringing young and not-so-young people to places where criminal acts, attacks and looting were taking place.”
He described social media as
“tools for mobilizing the worst impulses.”
He also said security forces had misjudged how soon “extreme left forces” would gather on Oct. 17, failing to foresee that they would meet
“so early in the day.”
Nunez pointed to organized far-right crowds confronting left-wing activists. He told BFM:
“We knew there had been calls from numerous identity-based and nationalist movements to come out to defend businesses,”
adding:
“In a number of cities, such as Nice and Montpellier, these groups arrived in organized formations, mainly to target the ultra-left movement.”
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Student demands: Macron said he had directed the government of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to
“respond to the legitimate demands that lie at the root of this social movement.”
He said several “concrete and huge” measures on education and university admissions would be announced soon, after a countrywide consultation involving high-school and university representatives. Bregeon said:
“There are demands that must be heard and answered. But to answer them, there is a prerequisite: a return to calm. We cannot have a functioning social dialogue in a climate of violence such as the one we experienced a week ago.”
A visit built around support for the security forces
The Elysee presented Macron’s stop in Marseille as an occasion to honor officers who had helped restore republican order after the Oct. 17 disturbances, when demonstrators briefly overran the city hall. The visit allowed the president to combine praise for the security services with an acknowledgment that his government had been caught off guard. The Oct. 17 protests spread into violence and looting in multiple large cities, and the disorder gave rise to suggestions that the authorities had lost control. Macron accepted that his team had
“not anticipated at all”
the size of the mobilization. Bregeon’s remarks on RTL reinforced the message that the state had acted decisively, while Nunez warned that Oct. 31 might prove difficult.
Online platforms, street clashes and early mobilization
In Marseille, the president criticized online platforms, contending that they weaken democracies and draw people toward places where crime, attacks and looting occur. He called social media a vehicle for mobilizing the worst impulses. Macron also conceded that security services had underestimated how quickly “extreme left forces” would assemble on Oct. 17; they had not expected such groups to meet
“so early in the day.”
Nunez widened the account, saying organized far-right mobs had confronted left-wing activists in several cities. He told BFM that identity-based and nationalist movements had urged people to defend businesses, and that groups in Nice and Montpellier appeared in formation, chiefly targeting the ultra-left. The minister’s description suggested the clashes involved planned confrontations between opposing camps as well as spontaneous anger.
Student grievances and the price of calm
Beyond security, Macron said he had instructed Lecornu’s government to address the grievances behind the student mobilization. He promised that several “concrete and huge” measures on education and university admissions would be unveiled shortly, after a countrywide consultation involving high-school and university representatives. Bregeon confirmed that the demands would be heard, but she set a condition: any response required a return to calm, and a functioning social dialogue could not exist in a climate of violence like that of the previous week. That captures a dual approach: concessions paired with a demand for order. He is trying to reassure a public shaken by weeks of protests, while warning that the coming Saturday’s demonstrations are risky and that routes will stay outside city centers. The government argues that curfews and a large police deployment prevented a worse outcome on Oct. 24, even as it acknowledges that the Oct. 17 unrest exposed failures of anticipation. The political test is whether promised measures on education and university admissions can lower tension before the next marches, and whether the state can maintain order without the violence and looting that marked earlier rounds.