Halloween costumes, heavy security as thousands take to France’s streets
AI
asserted
thousands → take → streets
PARIS – Thousands of protesters, some dressed as clowns and witches for Halloween, took to the streets of Paris and other cities on Oct 31 for a third weekend of demonstrations under tight security, as the authorities tried to avoid a repeat of the unrest that swept France two weeks earlier.
asserted
that → dress → France
Several thousand people, some wearing costumes ranging from Spider-Man to Frankenstein, walked through eastern Paris as a helicopter flew overhead.
asserted
helicopter → wear → Paris
Placards read: “No need for tear gas to make our future look bleak”, and “Dressed up as an angry citizen for Halloween”.
asserted
future → read → Halloween
The interior ministry put the current nationwide turnout at around 15,000 people, adding the situation remained “generally calm.”
asserted
situation → put → people
Police made 27 arrests by 2pm on Oct 31, compared with 217 arrests a week ago.
asserted
Police → make → arrests
Smaller rallies took place in Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon and other cities.
asserted
rallies → take → Marseille
“We say no to the cost of living, no to the far right, yes to high school students’ demands, yes to giving citizens a voice,” Camille Guerin, 31, said in the western city of Nantes.
asserted
Guerin → say → Nantes
The Paris police prefecture authorised the day’s march on the outskirts of the French capital, routing protesters through a working-class residential district.
asserted
prefecture → authorise → district
Around 70,000 security personnel were deployed.
asserted
personnel → deploy → ?
An aide to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Oct 30 that police prepared for street violence on a scale “comparable” to the unrest two weeks ago, when images of clashes, looted shops and public buildings set ablaze were broadcast around the world.
asserted
images → say → world
Between 400 and 800 hard-left activists were expected in Paris, said an informed source.
asserted
source → expect → Paris
‘You killed my France’
asserted
You → kill → France
The demonstrations come in a febrile political climate, with presidential elections less than six months away and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls.
asserted
Pen → come → polls
The protest movement, bringing together Yellow Vest activists, trade unions, and high school and university students, initially focused on the rising cost of living, inequality and deteriorating learning conditions.
asserted
movement → bring → living
Following a security clampdown and serious injuries to some protesters, the movement broadened its demands to include greater protection of civil liberties and the right to protest.
asserted
movement → follow → liberties
Similar youth-led demonstrations have been seen across Europe in recent weeks, with marches also planned on Oct 31 in Germany.
asserted
demonstrations → lead → Germany
In the southern French port city of Marseille, several hundred people gathered in the city centre.
asserted
people → gather → centre
In a carnival-like atmosphere, demonstrators chanted anti-fascist and anti-government slogans.
asserted
demonstrators → chant → slogans
Some were dressed as clowns and pirates.
asserted
Some → dress → clowns
In the south-western city of Toulouse, thousands of young people gathered for an unauthorised march, some in costumes and carrying French flags.
asserted
thousands → gather → flags
Protesters clapped and sang.
asserted
Protesters → clap → ?
“Manu, you killed my France,” said one placard, in a reference to President Emmanuel Macron.
asserted
placard → kill → Macron
New school blockades
Student protesters complained the police did not authorise a march through the centre of the French capital and vowed to stage new blockades of high schools and universities next week.
asserted
police → complain → schools
“Starting this Tuesday (Nov 3), we will blockade our universities and high schools, and we will do so again on Thursday before joining the demonstration on Nov 5 called by workers and trade unions,” said Sabrine Kharbach, spokeswoman for the Union etudiante union.
asserted
Kharbach → start → union
Ahead of the protests, some shopkeepers barricaded their businesses.
asserted
shopkeepers → barricade → businesses
In eastern Paris, Wael Boubaker, a cafe employee, covered a storefront with plywood panels.
asserted
Boubaker → cover → panels
“Everyone is staying home.
asserted
Everyone → stay → ?
No one is going to come and buy anything,” lamented Boubaker.
asserted
Boubaker → go → anything
Hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who accused Macron’s government of “taking an increasingly authoritarian turn”, joined the march in Paris.
“We will demonstrate our firm, calm and disciplined determination to ensure that the fundamental rights of a free people are respected,” he said on X.
‘Nervousness’
With the euro zone’s second-largest economy on the brink of recession and under pressure to rein in its debt, the government has limited scope to appease protesters through additional spending.
asserted
government → accuse → spending
A police source has pointed to “considerable nervousness” among the authorities.
asserted
source → point → authorities
Alain Di Crescenzo, president of France’s chamber of commerce, said business owners were worried.
asserted
owners → say → commerce
“Shopkeepers can’t wait for Saturday to be over,” Di Crescenzo told broadcaster France Inter.
Nunez said the authorities detected social media calls for Halloween gatherings on Oct 31 evening urging protesters to spark a “revolution”. AFP
asserted
authorities → wait → revolution
The Aporia
