France Sees Growing Unrest as PM Calls for Localized Curfew in Major Cities

Sébastien Lecornu told local officials on Sunday evening that he had instructed prefects to impose very limited, localized curfews in Paris, Lyon and Marseille to stem rioting and looting.

President Emmanuel Macron declined Laurent Nunez’s resignation, emphasizing continuity of security leadership as the country grapples with police losing control in several cities. Nunez admitted a lack of anticipation in deploying forces.

The unrest originated from protests over rising living costs and inadequate school conditions, and the violent spill‑over has injured nearly 1,000 law‑enforcement officers and led to roughly 2,400 arrests, while about 1,500 businesses were targeted with losses running into the hundreds of millions of euros.