måndag 19 oktober 2026
Mobilizing for a “second act”
Looted luxury stores, burned-down town halls, and violent clashes.
Following an emergency meeting, France is now implementing curfews for Monday evening.
Meanwhile, preparations for a “second act” are already underway, according to *Le Parisien*.
Nearly 1,000 police officers were injured and 117 people were arrested in Paris during the violent protests over the weekend. On Monday, an emergency meeting involving several French authorities took place, according to *Le Parisien*.
Following this, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu has urged the country’s prefects to implement local curfews for Monday evening. The curfews are intended to apply to specific districts as a measure to protect shops and other businesses.
So far, curfews for minors have been introduced in Lille, Douai, Wattignies, and Denain. The restrictions will be in effect between 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM for the next two nights. Nice has also implemented a curfew for minors for Monday evening, according to BFMTV.
In Paris, a curfew for all ages has been imposed around the Place de la République, effective from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM on Monday night. Furthermore, demonstrations have been banned in several parts of Paris, according to *Le Parisien*.
Police cordon off roads
“It is a miracle that more people were not injured this weekend,” says Sébastien Lecornu.
On Monday afternoon, *Le Parisien* reported that the police have cordoned off roads and deployed significant police resources to the Place de la République in Paris, the site of violent clashes over the weekend. Meanwhile, the French television channel BFMTV reports that people have begun gathering at the location. On Monday, the Louvre was also blocked by protesters.
“Macron must go”
At the same time, a major mobilization by the “Yellow Vests” (Gilets Jaunes) is taking place on social media and across the web ahead of next weekend. The group describes it as “Act II,” under the slogan “Macron must go,” according to *Le Parisien*. On a webpage linked to the group, 124 separate demonstrations are currently registered across Europe for October 24.
“We will be reinforcing the police presence, especially over the weekend,” says French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
Facts
Background
• The protests began on September 17, when high school students in Créteil, outside Paris, joined a teachers’ strike. Grievances included staff shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and dilapidated school buildings. The protests quickly spread to other parts of the country.
• By early October, approximately 400 schools had closed due to the violent protests. Public transport was also affected. Teachers and students reported feeling unsafe, and several acts of violence were documented, including in Marseille. • Over the weekend of October 17–18, the protests escalated. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated, and violent clashes broke out between police and protesters. Shops were looted, town halls were stormed, and in Limoges, the town hall was set on fire.
Trump open to meeting with Putin and Xi
Donald Trump says he is open to a meeting with the presidents of Russia and China in November.
The US president’s statement followed a report by The Wall Street Journal that Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed a meeting with Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.
Earlier on Monday, the Kremlin confirmed that “such a hypothetical meeting has been mentioned.”
“However, no concrete proposals or agreements have been discussed,” said spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
If it were to take place, the meeting would occur during the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, in mid-November.
Chosen by the students: “They have a plan”
Philosophy professor Tatjana Paunovic was chosen by her students as one of the 250 candidates on the “Student List” – a group seeking to reform Serbia.
“The students are fantastic; they have a very detailed plan for how everything should change,” she says.
When the protests erupted, Tatjana Paunovic took to the streets alongside her students. She teaches philosophy at the university in the city of Niš and sees the students fighting for the very values she has tried to instill in them.
“They want to create a new system where people are treated more humanely, democratically, and fairly,” she says.
The candidates rarely speak publicly, so as not to take the floor away from the students. Many have also paid a high price for their involvement; several have lost their jobs.
“Those in power manipulate institutions to punish people who support the student movement.”
Strengthening institutions
Tatjana Paunovic herself, along with her university colleagues, has not received a salary since July. According to Paunovic, this is telling of the Vučić regime.
She points out that the current administration is the successor to former Serbian President Slobodan Milošević, who was ousted in 2000 and later stood trial in The Hague for genocide committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
However, Tatjana Paunovic believes the situation has worsened since the time of Milošević. – They succeeded in toppling him because people within the institutions refused to break the law back then. Today, it is different; the government has installed politically compliant individuals who carry out their orders.
“The time has come”
The goal of the Student Movement is to strengthen the institutions, thereby paving the way for democracy. The fact that none of the candidates has any political experience is an advantage, according to Paunovic.
– We do not want to engage in politics the way it is practiced in today’s Serbia; we want to change how politics is created.
Sources: Putin seeks peace talks with Xi and Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a meeting with his American and Chinese counterparts to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
This is according to several sources with knowledge of the matter, speaking to The Wall Street Journal.
The meeting with Xi Jinping and Donald Trump has been proposed for next month. The objective is to reach an agreement that favors Russia, according to the newspaper’s information.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the WSJ that discussions regarding a potential meeting are underway. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, is reportedly not invited to participate.
Putin’s proposal was reportedly made during a phone call with Trump on October 9—the same conversation that resulted in an agreement to release hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel onto American and international markets.
At the same time, the American president decided earlier this week to exempt Russia from sanctions related to fuel exports.
Putin is now said to be looking to capitalize on this opening from the U.S. side to secure a favorable outcome in negotiations concerning Ukraine.
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