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# France Moves To Ban Protests As "European Spring" Sweeps Continent
- URL: https://aontachtmedia.ie/france-moves-to-ban-protests-as-european-spring-sweeps-continent/
- Published: 2026-10-23T16:18:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T16:18:48.000Z
- Description: The French government has effectively suspended the right of assembly in towns and cities across the country, as a week of protest movements continues to intensify across Albania, Belgium, Serbia, France, Spain and Italy.
- Author: Aontacht Newsroom
- Tags: News

The French government has effectively suspended the right of assembly in towns and cities across the country, as a week of protest movements continues to intensify across Albania, Belgium, Serbia, France, Spain and Italy. General strikes are planned in the latter three countries in the coming weeks.

President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that demonstrations organised by groups with "no legitimacy to do so" would be banned by government prefects. Protests declared by trade unions may be authorised at the government's discretion he said, but mandated routes will be enforced. "The general recommendation is that there should be no demonstrations", Macron said. "Those who want to continue to demonstrate, when they are trade union organisations, will have alternative routes proposed by the prefects. When they're not union organisations, wherever possible, they'll be banned".

Macron blamed "political and even seditious acts organised by far-left groups that aim to bring down the Republic" for last weekend's unrest, which saw intense rioting in numerous cities. Interior Minister Jean-Didier Berger said law enforcement would be twenty percent higher than the previous weekend, after the government promised a "massive" police deployment. At least 2,500 people have been arrested across the country since the protests began.

Authorities in multiple cities had already imposed blanket nighttime curfews and banned protests planned for Thursday. In Lyon, France's third city, the Rhône prefecture imposed a complete ban on demonstrations. Similar announcements were made in Toulon, Rouen and Grenoble. Partial curfews restricting the movement of young people and gatherings have been in place this week in Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon, Lille and many other towns. In Paris, a ban on demonstrations covered areas including the city center, Élysée palace, both houses of parliament and the main train stations.

High school and university student groups say they will continue to mobilise, despite the autumn school break. The main student union, UNEF, has called for rallies on Saturday. The Yellow Vest movement has also announced plans for a march through central Paris. Businesses have begun boarding up shop windows in advance of the weekend, with luxury goods group Hermès saying it had stepped up security at its French stores. In the northern city of Orleans, authorities were braced for potential unrest as the far-right National Rally was due to hold its annual meeting. Unions and left-wing groups were said to be planning demonstrations.

The unrest has laid bare the crisis of Europe's working class, from soaring energy costs and stagnant wages to concerns over deteriorating public services and facilities. The protests were sparked off by anger over underfunded schools in France and evictions in Spain, and have since grown into a broader movement with more than a hint of revolutionary intent. Prominent among the demonstrations is the plain red flag representing the working class, and references to the Paris commune of 1871\. Observers have begun to describe the wave of demonstrations as a "European Spring", echoing the revolutions of 1848\. 

For their part, far right parties and astroturfed media outlets have been busy condemning the protests, pointing rather awkwardly to displays of Palestinian flags as evidence that the movement is, contrary to all evidence, actually an attempt by immigrants to establish right wing religious Islamic rule across the continent. But these appeals look increasingly bizarre as the movement continues to grow, with general strikes planned. It is self evident that this is a working-class movement cutting across all ethnic and religious lines, the very development that threatens to upend the far right's narrative and, if it continues, represents a catastrophe for its long term project.

In the financial markets meanwhile, investor unease has gripped France's 10-year government bonds, with yields breaking through the five percent mark for the first time in decades. As Frédéric Lordon put it in his recent piece for Tribune Magazine, we are witnessing the collision of "two incompatible principles of sovereignty... “the financial markets’ claim to sovereignty, as they seek to control all public policies, shape them according to their wishes, and nip in the bud any they dislike; and the sovereignty of the people. Macronism is the party of the former sovereignty against the latter: choose France, please the markets — as for the rest: riot police, eye-gouging, mutilations". \[1\]

For now, the momentum lies with the protests. The coming weeks will test whether the movement can translate widesread street protests into sustained industrial action, and whether governments across Europe can contain a wave of discontent that shows no sign of receding.

\[1\] [https://tribunemag.co.uk/2026/10/the-total-strike-has-come-for-france](https://tribunemag.co.uk/2026/10/the-total-strike-has-come-for-france?ref=aontachtmedia.ie)