France Says Nightly Curfews Will Last 'For as Long as Necessary' as Restrictions Spread to Marseille

Fresh nightly curfews were imposed across the city centres of Paris and Lyon on Tuesday, after the first quiet night since France's most destructive rioting in years. Authorities say the curfews will remain in place 'for as long as necessary.'

Paris police said the curfew in two designated zones — around Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district — had restored 'public peace' overnight and would remain in place 'for as long as necessary.'

The curfew zones, however, leave out other areas hit on Saturday, including the Champs-Élysées and the area around the Saint-Lazare train station and parts of the Rue de Turbigo in central Paris, where protesters set up barricades and lit fires.

In Lyon, one of France's largest cities, authorities also renewed a curfew in the city centre from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., saying no disturbances had been recorded overnight.

Marseille, France's second-largest city, imposed a curfew for unaccompanied minors starting Tuesday night. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the targeted curfews 'helped keep last night calm.'

Tension has run across France since protests over the cost of living turned into rioting on Saturday. Student unions and groups from the 'yellow vest' movement, whose protests over fuel prices shook France in 2018 and 2019, have called for another day of protests on Saturday.

The government is preparing for that day too. Lecornu told the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, that the deployment of police forces for next Saturday will be 'massive' — without giving figures.

Soldiers from Sentinelle, the anti-terrorism operation that has patrolled French cities since the 2015 Islamic State group attacks, will take over guarding sensitive sites to free up more police officers and gendarmes for crowd control, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, police on Tuesday arrested a suspect in the arson attack that charred the historic city hall in Limoges, in central France. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said the person was being held in police custody and may not have acted alone.

French media reported that the suspect was close to radical environmentalist movements and was on a watchlist of people considered potential threats to national security. Darmanin declined to comment on the suspect's profile, but said far-left groups appeared to have organised to attack symbols of the state throughout France.

Footage of the 143-year-old building in flames, its bell tower collapsing, spread widely online over the weekend. US Vice President JD Vance shared it on X, blaming the unrest on immigration. President Donald Trump, who also relayed the video, said migrants had 'taken over France.'

French officials have instead blamed the violence on far-left groups and opportunistic looters. At least 2,400 people were arrested after rioters in cities across France on Saturday clashed with police, set cars on fire and stormed public buildings, during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools.

On Sunday evening, small groups set fire to trash bins, bicycles and other objects in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities.

In Paris on Monday night, a police helicopter circled over Place de la République overnight, a central point in the weekend clashes, sweeping the square with a searchlight to check that the curfew was being respected.

Early on Tuesday morning, workers used a crane to remove a giant fluorescent yellow vest draped over the statue at the centre of the square, then used pressure washers to blast graffiti off the monument. One calm night has passed, but with new protests called for Saturday, France's cities remain on edge.