French Minister Warns: Very High Risk of Unrest

 

TT-AFP

Published 21.24

 

A masked demonstrator holds up a sign reading “The world is ours” during protests in Paris last Saturday. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP/TT

There is a high risk of unrest and violence as new protests are set to take place in France this Saturday.

The warning comes from Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who announced that approximately 70,000 police officers and gendarmes have been mobilized.

Nuñez told reporters that permission has been granted for Saturday’s demonstrations, “but not in city centers.”

Despite this restriction, there remains a “very high risk” of disturbances.

“We will not tolerate any excesses,” Nuñez continued, warning of an “extremely forceful” response to any violations.

Demonstrations in the country over the past few weeks have brought hundreds of thousands of people to the streets. 

At times, the protests have turned violent, with clashes between demonstrators and police in several locations—last Saturday, more than 1,300 people were arrested, and around 50 were injured.