Paris police issue overnight curfew in 2 areas of French capital to try to prevent further disorder

PARIS (AP) — Paris police issued an overnight curfew on Monday in two areas of the French capital in efforts to prevent further violence, after a weekend marred by France’s worst rioting in years that targeted city halls, other public buildings and thousands of businesses across the country.The order aims to protect “people and property from the violence and looting,” the Paris police statement said.The curfew prohibits anyone from entering or remaining on the Place de la République, where rioting took place Saturday, and the shopping neighborhood of Les Halles, which has been subject to looting.The curfew will be in effect from 11 p.m. In addition, gatherings and demonstrations are banned from 8 p.m., the Paris police said.Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had called for “very limited” and “localized” curfews.In northern France, local authorities imposed a curfew for children and teenagers under age 18 in several cities, including Lille, starting from Monday and for the next two days from 8 p.m. Nice, on the French Riviera, also imposed an overnight curfew for minors from 9 p.m.Lecornu defended police handling of the unrest, saying that “despite scenes of severe violence and extensive property damage, no one was killed, and that is a miracle.”He said that details of the curfews would be announced later Monday after consultations with mayors.Mass protests in France are often tainted by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police.

Saturday’s unrest recalled the riots that followed the fatal police shooting of a teenager in 2023, when authorities imposed local curfews, and violence during the yellow vest movement that began in 2018 over fuel prices and broader economic grievances.Macron rejects interior minister’s resignationThe prime minister's instructions come after Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation Sunday. But President Emmanuel Macron refused it “given the need for continued command of law enforcement in the current context,” Macron's office said in a statement Monday.He instructed Nuñez “to take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency about the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that led to the violence,” the statement said.Macron also asked for the introduction of “new policing tactics on the ground as quickly as po… PARIS (AP) — Paris police said in a statement Monday that they issued an overnight curfew in two areas of the French capital “to protect people and property from the violence and looting.”The statement said that the orders ban gatherings and demonstrations and impose a curfew prohibiting anyone from entering or remaining around the Place de la République, where rioting took place Saturday, and the shopping neighborhood of Les Halles, which has been subject to looting.The curfew will be in effect from 11 p.m.

Tuesday.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.The French prime minister called for “very limited” and “localized” curfews Monday after a weekend marred by France’s worst rioting in years that targeted city halls, other public buildings and thousands of businesses across the country.Speaking after an emergency meeting with senior government officials, Sébastien Lecornu defended police handling of the unrest, saying that “despite scenes of severe violence and extensive property damage, no one was killed, and that is a miracle.”He said details of the curfews would be announced later Monday after consultations with mayors.Mass protests in France are often tainted by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police.