France Deploys Exceptional 70,000-Strong Security Force for Halloween Protests

Overview

• Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has ordered about 70,000 police and gendarmes for Saturday, 31 October, and warned of a 'very high' risk of urban violence driven by social‑media calls and Halloween night gatherings.
• Prefectures have banned marches in central districts, imposed curfews in parts of Paris and redirected authorized protests to peripheral routes to reduce exposure of shops and public institutions.
• CCI France says more than 2,500 businesses were affected in the October unrest, including 1,161 hit by pillaging, sacking or arson, prompting some merchants to close or board up shop fronts.
• Private security and remote‑surveillance firms report sharp demand increases, with Verisure noting a 40% rise in professional requests and some alarm activations up fourfold since the riots.
• Analysts and criminologist Alain Bauer warn the situation could escalate again around a union‑called general strike on 5 November, while unions and student groups have legally challenged some route restrictions.