Paris shifts protest route to city edge

Shoppers in Paris will face a different Saturday this week as the city confines major marches to the southeastern edge. Police rerouted the planned demonstration on Friday, moving the start and finish points from the traditional Bastille and Nation districts to the Porte d'Italie and Porte de Vincennes gates. The change aims to keep large crowds away from central business hubs and popular tourist sites.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that up to 70,000 officers will be deployed across France for the event. The security package includes helicopters, armored vehicles, and water cannons to manage the crowds. A smaller contingent of gendarmes was already visible beneath the Arc de Triomphe and on nearby avenues as a precautionary measure.

The mobilization follows a turbulent week where unrest left more than 3,000 shops damaged or looted nationwide. Vehicles were burned, and the 19th-century city hall in Limoges nearly destroyed in a fire. Two suspects in the Limoges incident have been placed under formal investigation and held pending trial. The probe includes attempted murder of a public official.

Protesters are marching over school funding and rising living costs. The movement began last month due to staff shortages at a high school southeast of Paris but has expanded. Student groups have published a 10-point plan demanding 250,000 additional higher education places. They also call for an end to selection through the Parcoursup admissions system, an extra 200 euros in monthly student grants, and a rent freeze in public student housing.

Unions are participating to push for higher wages and pension reforms. These demands aim to help households cope with the current cost of living. Last week, more than half a million people joined the demonstrations. Organizers expect another large turnout for the Saturday events in Paris and Marseille.

Cultural venues are closing to avoid potential clashes. The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Picasso Museum, and Grand Palais are closed for the day. The Grand Palais is currently hosting a major Cézanne exhibit. Art Basel opened to the public on Friday for a single day but cancelled its full weekend program due to the threat of unrest.

Business owners are taking precautions to protect their inventory. Contractor Akram Ahmed, 34, was boarding up an optician's shop near Saint-Lazare station. "I got the call last night," he said. The shop owner told him the action was necessary to save the business. Paris police prefect Patrice Faure urged shopkeepers to hire security guards, then clarified that protecting businesses is the government's responsibility.

Not all planned rallies are proceeding. Local authorities banned marches in Lyon, Nice, and Montpellier. French media reported that police used tear gas in Lyon on Saturday morning. Trade unions have criticized these bans as violations of freedom of expression, a right protected by the constitution. The protests occur as President Emmanuel Macron faces the final stretch of his term with popularity at its lowest since 2017.

Macron stated that the measures are needed to protect city centers, businesses, and public buildings. In Orléans, about 110 kilometers south of Paris, thousands gathered for an anti-far-right protest. This event coincided with a two-day congress of Marine Le Pen's nationalist party ahead of the presidential election next spring. Victoria Ambrosini, an art critic and teacher at Saint-Denis University, said money is now "concentrated in the hands of very few people." She added, "it's not possible anymore."