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Photograph: Ibrahim Ezzat/Anadolu/Getty Images     (macron-ban-illegitimate-demonstrations-france-unrest.html#img-1)   View image in fullscreen       Student protesters in Paris on Thursday after an initial police ban on their demonstration was overturned by a court. Photograph: Ibrahim Ezzat/Anadolu/Getty Images       (https://www.theguardian.com/world/france) France     Macron bans ‘illegitimate’ protests in France as he tries to get a grip on unrest   French president also says he will decide on concrete ‘next steps’ for the next nationwide demonstrations (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/22/fallout-fast-tracking-french-rioting-cases) Angry lawyers and bewildered defendants: the fallout from fast-tracking French rioting cases             (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jonhenley) Jon Henley in Paris   Thu 22 Oct 2026 11.54 EDT  Last modified on Thu 22 Oct 2026 14.19 EDT   (mailto:?subject=Macron bans ‘illegitimate’ protests in France as he tries to get a grip on unrest&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/22/macron-ban-illegitimate-demonstrations-france-unrest?CMP=share_btn_url) Share          (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=theguardian.com) Prefer the Guardian on Google          Emmanuel Macron has said “illegitimate” demonstrations will be banned over the coming days as France seeks to get a grip on civil unrest after (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/19/looting-french-cities-continues-second-night) some of its worst street violence in years erupted on the fringes of cost of living protests at the weekend. Speaking after a ​meeting with intelligence officials and senior ministers, the French president said on Thursday that demonstrations organised by recognised groups would be allowed to go ahead, although their routes could be changed.        (Emmanuel Macron sitting at table in front of vertical banners depicting the EU and French flags)   (macron-ban-illegitimate-demonstrations-france-unrest.html#img-2)   View image in fullscreen       Emmanuel Macron chairs a security council meeting at the Élysée Palace. Photograph: Suarez Teresa/ABACA/Shutterstock  Protests requested by “individuals or groups with no legitimate authority” would be banned, Macron said. Requests by organisations such as trade unions would be “examined in accordance with the law” but they might have to use alternative routes. The measures were necessary to protect city centres, businesses and public buildings, he said, adding: “The rules are simple and I think they’re commonsense. The general recommendation is that there should be no demonstrations in the coming days.” Macron blamed much of last weekend’s unrest and looting on rioters who came expressly to loot, but said the worst of the violence was due to “political and seditious acts by ultra far-left groups who aimed to bring down the republic”.       (Student protesters holding a large banner on a Paris street)   (macron-ban-illegitimate-demonstrations-france-unrest.html#img-3)   View image in fullscreen       Protesters in Paris hold a banner reading “high school students target the Bac. The Bac target the head.” The Bac refers to the baccalaureate exam and also the French police’s anti-crime brigade. Photograph: Teresa Suárez/AP  “The priority is a return to calm,” he said, adding that he would chair a defence council meeting of key ministers on Friday to decide concrete “next steps” for new nationwide demonstrations called for Saturday and afterwards. An initial police ban on a student protest planned in (https://www.theguardian.com/world/paris) Paris for Thursday was overturned by a court, but marches also scheduled for the day in Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre and Toulon were halted. (macron-ban-illegitimate-demonstrations-france-unrest.html#EmailSignup-skip-link-9) skip past newsletter promotion     Free newsletter | Weekly    Sign up to This is Europe  The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment  ()   Enter your email  ()   Sign up      after newsletter promotion   (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/21/macron-trump-foreign-leaders-stupid-comments-france-unrest)  Macron accuses Trump and other foreign leaders of ‘stupid comments’ about France unrest     Read more        Authorities have already declared a ban on “all protests” on Saturday in the centre of Lyon, France’s third-biggest city, where between 200 and 300 shops were ransacked and looted last weekend and the tourist office was set ablaze. Authorities in Marseille, Nice and Toulon announced similar bans for Saturday. In Paris, a march planned for Saturday to be held in the east of the capital, starting at the Place de la Bastille, was authorised but banned from heading into the city centre. However, a separate march through the capital planned for Saturday by students and some members of the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement, whose protests over fuel prices rocked France in 2018 and 2019, would not be permitted, authorities in the capital said.       (Protesters with gas masks, some wearing yellow vests, on a smoke-filled public square with the French flag in the centre.)   (macron-ban-illegitimate-demonstrations-france-unrest.html#img-4)   View image in fullscreen       A demonstration involving members of the gilets jaunes on the capital’s Place de la République on Saturday. Photograph: Giulia Morici/NurPhoto/Shutterstock  France’s main student union, UNEF, has also called ‌for rallies on Saturday. Businesses in central Paris and other cities had already begun boarding up their windows and hiring private security in preparation for violence, French media reported. The justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, said 174 of the 2,500 people arrested since last weekend’s rioting had been remanded in custody and more than 900 were being prosecuted. Two people have been arrested after Limoges town hall was set on fire. (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/22/trump-maga-media-europe-protests)  ‘America, this is a warning’: pro- Trump Maga media in a froth over Europe protests     Read more        The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, was hosting a meeting of key figures from France’s main political parties on Thursday to hear their views and seek cooperation, and was due to meet several big-city mayors later in the day. The tough security response has included partial night-time curfews in parts of several cities including Paris, as well as bans on gatherings in areas such as around the Élysée presidential palace, the parliament and the city’s main train stations. The demonstrations began last month in a high school in Créteil, south-east of Paris, over staff shortages and dilapidated buildings, and spread nationwide, with strikes, blockades and demonstrations by high-school pupils around the country. Those demonstrations have morphed into larger protests over soaring living costs, six months before next year’s presidential elections, which will choose Macron’s successor.         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Their job is to protect the state, not the people   (Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 12:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 2d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2026/oct/20/from-paris-to-milan-student-protests-across-europe-in-pictures)    ()      From Paris to Porto, from Tirana to Milan: protests across Europe – in pictures    (Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 10:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 2d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/19/looting-french-cities-continues-second-night)    ()      ‘It looks like a war zone’: France reels as looting continues for second night   (Monday, October 19, 2026 at 09:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 3d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/19/the-guardian-view-on-frances-protests-a-polarised-country-is-in-a-perilous-political-moment)    ()      double quotation mark   The Guardian view on France’s protests: a polarised country is in a perilous political moment   (Monday, October 19, 2026 at 01:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 3d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/19/french-police-lost-control-during-riots-concedes-interior-minister)    ()      France imposes partial curfews in several cities, including parts of Paris   (Monday, October 19, 2026 at 02:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 3d ago                        Most viewed      Most viewed                                                               (https://www.theguardian.com/world) World  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) Europe   (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news) US news  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/americas) Americas  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/asia) Asia  (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news) Australia  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa) Africa  (https://www.theguardian.com/inequality) Inequality  (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development) Global development       (https://www.theguardian.com/) News  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) Opinion  (https://www.theguardian.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.theguardian.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) Lifestyle    Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning (https://www.theguardian.com/info/2018/sep/17/guardian-us-morning-briefing-sign-up-to-stay-informed) Sign up for our email     (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us) About us  (https://manage.theguardian.com/help-centre) Help  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/complaints-and-corrections) Complaints & corrections  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us/contact) Contact us  (https://www.theguardian.com/tips) Tip us off  (https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) SecureDrop  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/privacy) Privacy policy  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/cookies) Cookie policy  (https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2026/07/22/STL_Global_Tax_Strategy_for_the_year_to_31_March_2027.pdf) Tax strategy  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) Terms & conditions   (https://www.theguardian.com/index/subjects/a) All topics  (https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) All writers  (https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?INTCMP=DOTCOM_FOOTER_NEWSLETTER_US) Newsletters  (https://theguardian.newspapers.com) Digital newspaper archive  (https://bsky.app/profile/us.theguardian.com) Bluesky  (https://www.facebook.com/theguardian) Facebook  (https://www.instagram.com/guardian) Instagram  (https://www.linkedin.com/company/theguardian) LinkedIn  (https://www.threads.com/@guardian_us) Threads  (https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian) TikTok  (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGuardian) YouTube   (https://usadvertising.theguardian.com) Advertise with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-labs-us) Guardian Labs  (https://workwithus.theguardian.com/) Work with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/accessibility-help) Accessibility settings         (macron-ban-illegitimate-demonstrations-france-unrest.html#top) Back to top      © 2026Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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