France braces for another day of mass protests with over 70,000 police deployed

France has prepared for another day of mass protests. More than 70,000 police officers and gendarmes are set to be deployed across the country to prevent a repeat of last weekend's violence.

The protests centre on deteriorating school conditions and the rising cost of living. Authorities have made clear they are determined to prevent Saturday's demonstrations from descending into violence.

On October 17, protests that had been largely peaceful were marred by widespread looting, vandalism and clashes, with thousands of businesses damaged or ransacked. More than 2,000 people were taken into police custody, according to official figures.

After that experience, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 20 percent more officers would be deployed than during the previous weekend. The operation will also involve RAID, an elite police unit usually tasked with counterterrorism and other high-risk interventions.

Nunez said RAID officers would not be directly involved in crowd control but would support other police operations. The remark shows authorities are taking the risk of violence seriously.

A highly restrictive approach has also been adopted for Saturday's demonstrations. President Emmanuel Macron said requests to protest from trade unions would be examined by local authorities, while demonstrations organised by other groups would be banned wherever possible.

In several cities, including Montpellier, Rouen and Nice, protests were prohibited in downtown areas. In Lyon, demonstrations have been banned in the city centre, while in Marseille, a union-organised march has been authorised under strict conditions.

In Paris, a coalition of unions is due to lead a march from Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes, along the Boulevards des Marechaux, between 1pm and 7pm, after the originally negotiated central route between Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation was banned.

Amnesty International France criticised the security escalation, saying it comes at the expense of freedoms, seriously endangers the right to demonstrate peacefully and raises fears of a further escalation of violence.

In central Paris, businesses were shuttered and shop windows covered with protective panels, while some retailers hired private security. At least 24 metro stations were closed at the request of the police prefecture. Major cultural institutions, including the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay, also closed for the day, while Art Basel Paris cancelled its weekend programme.

On Friday, Macron met representatives of the student movement for the first time since the protests began. He promised more teachers and a deep overhaul of Parcoursup, the admission system to access universities. But the meeting failed to defuse tensions, with student representatives calling for further mobilisation until the government presents concrete actions.

The protests began in mid-September, when high school students blockaded their schools over deteriorating conditions, including dilapidated buildings and teacher shortages, as well as what they see as an unfair system for accessing higher education. The movement has since become a focal point for wider discontent over the cost of living, inequality and Macron's presidency.

On October 17, more than half a million people took to the streets, following calls from student organisations and remnants of the Yellow Vest movement. The unrest comes as France approaches a pivotal presidential election in six months. Macron, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term, will leave office in 2027.

The violence has also put a renewed focus on the far right, whose leading figure, Marine Le Pen, has long campaigned on a promise to restore law and order. Recent polls have placed her as the leading contender for the presidency by a wide margin. In Orleans, where Le Pen's National Rally is holding its party congress on Saturday, marking the start of its presidential campaign, authorities expect between 20,000 and 30,000 people to join a counter-demonstration, prompting a major security operation.