The French Government has started this Monday to detail the implementation of new nighttime curfews in different cities of the country, with Paris and Lille at the forefront, as had already been announced hours earlier, with the aim of preventing the recent wave of protests, riots, and strong social tension that erupted last weekend from recurring.
The office of the Prime Minister, Sebastién Lecornu, has conveyed to the main French media the confirmation of these restrictions that, in the case of the capital, will be applied in the Place de la République —one of the usual meeting points for protesters— and in the central and emblematic neighborhood of Les Halles. According to the BFM TV network, the restriction will be in effect from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM this Tuesday.
In addition to Lille, the curfew extends "to minors" living in certain areas of the towns of Douai, Wattignies, and Denain. In these municipalities, the prohibition of movement will be in effect from 8:00 PM this evening until 6:00 AM on Tuesday, "with the consensus of the affected mayors."
In the south of the country, the city of Nice will also be subject to this measure. There, the curfew will be applied from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM on Tuesday and will also exclusively affect minors.
During the morning, Lecornu opened the door to extending this tool to all those municipalities whose mayors requested it, although he was more cautious regarding the possibility of resorting to a more extreme measure such as declaring a state of emergency.
Instead, the Prime Minister opted to maintain these "punctual and very localized curfews," as an immediate response to the escalation of tension experienced in recent days.