French interior minister to deploy 70,000 police for Halloween protests

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that this Saturday was looking like “a very high risk” day for public order and that he would again deploy 70,000 security forces to try to safeguard the country. Nunez told reporters on Thursday that several radical groups had called on social media for violent gatherings that day, which is also Halloween, and that the response of security forces would be “extremely firm.” He highlighted the risk of disorder on Saturday evening in particular once more mainstream demonstrations had ended. “We are seeing many calls for rallies coming from the labor movement, the radicalized far left, and certain radicalized ‘Yellow Vests’ websites, urging people to attend rallies on public streets starting at 8:00 p.m. (on October 31) in many cities across France, accompanied by various messages which are, let’s just, say quite radical,” he said. “October 31 is a day that poses a very high risk to public order,” he added. The Interior Ministry has said 410,000 people took part in marches last Saturday when authorities deployed 70,000 police, helping to avert a repeat of the looting and vandalism that swept many cities on October 17. Labour leaders and students have urged further protests on October 31 and a nationwide strike on November 5, saying frustration over wages, living costs and public services was spreading far beyond the student movement that first mobilised last month.