France puts 70,000 police on duty as a third week of protests looms

French authorities put a police presence of 70,000 officers in place on Saturday, October 31, 2026, ahead of a day of demonstrations that officials expected could turn violent. The Times of Israel reported that the protests are the latest in a nationwide wave fuelled by anger over the cost of living, the state of public services and President Emmanuel Macron's government.

According to Ynet, the Israeli news site, this is the third consecutive week in which France has prepared for possible turbulent demonstrations across the country. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said earlier in the week that the day carried "a very high risk" of disorder and pledged "an extremely firm response" to any trouble, the Times of Israel reported.

Where the officers are deployed

The reports describe the deployment differently. A short news alert from Ynet's alerts channel said the 70,000 officers had been deployed in the capital. The fuller Ynet article and the Times of Israel both describe the deployment as covering France as a whole, with the Times of Israel calling it a nationwide effort to contain the expected unrest. The material available does not settle whether the figure refers to Paris alone or to the whole country.

What happened two weeks ago

The heightened security follows earlier disorder that, by the Times of Israel's account, took the security services by surprise. That outlet said riots and looting two weeks before Saturday left shops, businesses and public buildings damaged in cities around France. Nunez has said he will not allow those scenes to be repeated.

A photograph caption published by The Jerusalem Post places that earlier violence in context: it shows a fire and riot police in Paris on October 18, 2026, the day after a national day of protest against the cost of living and rising fuel prices. The Jerusalem Post framed Saturday's events as renewed nationwide protests met by a government promising a tough response.

A banned march in central Paris

France's top administrative court, which rules on disputes involving state decisions, upheld a ban on Saturday on a planned march between two well-known Paris squares, Place de la Republique and Place de la Bastille, according to the Times of Israel. Unions had challenged the ban and lost. The two squares, in the east of the city, are traditional gathering points for French street protests and labour marches. The Times of Israel indicated that demonstrations would be held in another form instead, though the available text of its report breaks off before giving those details.

The same report noted that the protests coincided with Halloween, and carried an Associated Press photograph of a man outside a barricaded Paris Saint-Germain football club shop, a sign of retailers preparing for possible damage.

Voices from the street

Ynet spoke to a 15-year-old named Aharon who said he would be demonstrating for a third week in a row. He argued that young people are constantly described as the country's future, and warned that without adequate resources France would collapse. His remarks echo the concerns about public services and living costs that the reports identify as the main drivers of the movement.

Why Israeli outlets are following this

The coverage here comes from three Israeli news organisations: Ynet, the online arm of the Yedioth Ahronoth group, which reported in Hebrew; and the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post, both English-language. France is home to a large Jewish community and is a frequent subject of Israeli news coverage, and periods of unrest there are closely followed by readers with family or business ties to the country. None of the reports links the current protests to Jewish or Israeli matters.

What the reports do not say

• Whether the 70,000 officers are concentrated in Paris or spread across France; the sources differ on this.
• How many people were expected to demonstrate, or which unions and groups organised the protests.
• What the alternative arrangements for demonstrations in Paris were after the march was banned.
• How many arrests, injuries or incidents of damage there were during the earlier riots, or during Saturday's protests.
• Any specific policy demands put to the government, beyond the broad grievances over living costs, fuel prices, public services and Macron's administration.

These reports were published on the morning of the protests, and the outcome of the day was not known at the time.