Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

CRIME

Curfews, limited transport and more riots: What to expect in France this weekend

France has seen three days of rioting following the death of a teenage boy at the hands of the police, and it's widely expected that trouble will continue over the weekend. From local curfews to public transport ending at 9pm and event cancellations, here's what to expect.

Published: 30 June 2023 16:32 CEST
Curfews, limited transport and more riots: What to expect in France this weekend
Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP

Riots

Unlike trouble that flared during the pension protests, these riots are not linked to organised or declared marches, so it’s hard to predict when or if they will happen.

However most experts agree that it’s likely that trouble will continue over the weekend, and the riots that have taken place so far have all happened in the evening or overnight.

READ ALSO Should I cancel my trip to France because of riots?

While trouble has flared in towns and cities across the country, it has been concentrated in the low-income and deprived suburbs surrounding the big cities, especially Paris.

Having said that, many smaller towns have also seen some trouble and a small number of rioters entered central Paris and began looting shops on Thursday night. Rural France has been unaffected so far.

IN DETAIL: Where are the riots in France?

If you’re in a city you’re likely to hear fireworks, as these are frequently fired at police as missiles. More than 2,000 vehicles have been set alight during the riots, so if you have a car we suggest avoiding on-street parking in the cities. 

Public transport

Interior minister Gérald Darmanin has ordered local authorities to halt all bus and tram services after 9pm “until further notice”.

Cities that have a Metro, including Paris, can run their Metro services as normal, although police may close certain stations if they are close to areas where there is rioting. In this instance, trains usually pass through to the next station without stopping. 

The regional Paris authority announced that the Metro will stop at 1.15am on Friday and Saturday evenings – instead of 2.15am as is usually the case at weekends. 

Several other cities, including Grenoble and Lille, have seen disruption on public transport due to attacks on buses or bus depots.

National services like flights, SNCF trains and inter-city buses are running as normal, and road transport is also unaffected. 

Curfews and event cancellations

The government has told local authorities to ban ‘big events’ – discretion is left up to local officials on what counts as a ‘large event’, but mindful of the possibility of trouble and limited public transport several event organisers have already called off planned gatherings. If you have plans, it’s best to check the venue’s website or social media pages. 

Earlier in the week bars, cafés and restaurants opened as normal and saw standard levels of clientele.

Some local authorities have imposed a curfew, mostly running from 10pm to 6am. It is unclear how effective these have been, or how strictly enforced.

Some other towns including Marseille have banned protests – this doesn’t directly affect riots since they aren’t planned or declared protests anyway, but will free up police time from policing other, unrelated demos. 

Policing

Expect to see lots of police around – 40,000 officers were deployed on Thursday night and similar numbers are likely over the weekend.

Police officers have been repeatedly targeted during the riots so are likely to be on edge – if they order you to clear an area or move somewhere else, we suggest following their orders.

The prime minister has also announced that police armoured vehicles will be used in areas where tensions run high.

State of emergency

Politicians from the right of the political spectrum have been calling for the government to impose a ‘state of emergency’ because of the widespread violence.

The government has opted against this for now, but says that all options remain open and the situation will be closely monitored. 

Shopping

The sale of fireworks – routinely fired at police during the riots – has been banned, along with petrol in cans. So filling up your vehicle at service stations is allowed, but buying a can of petrol to refill a lawnmower or similar will not be allowed. 

After several towns and cities saw looting on Thursday night, it wouldn’t be surprising if businesses decided to close early over the weekend. 

Borders

Borders remain open, but customers officers have been asked to “reinforce checks but any kind of implement that could be used for violence” – so it’s possible that border checks could take longer than usual if you’re entering France. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

POLITICS

What does the new government mean for foreigners in France?

France at last has a new government and one of its four main aims is to "control immigration and promote integration" - so what is this likely to mean for foreigners in France, or those hoping to move here some day?

Published: 20 September 2024 10:36 CEST
What does the new government mean for foreigners in France?

After two weeks of intense negotiation, on Thursday evening newly-appointed prime minister Michel Barnier announced that he had succeeded in forming a government.

 He also laid out his four main priorities;

  • Improve the standard of living for the French and the workings of public services, especially schools and healthcare
  • Guarantee security, control immigration and improve integration
  • Encourage businesses and agriculture and build upon the economic attractiveness of France
  • Get public finances under control and reduce debt

He is set to give his Discours de politique générale on October 1st – this is the traditional speech that a prime minister makes laying out the main policy aims of their government.

So what is this likely to mean for foreigners living in France?

Obviously some of these things will have the same effect on foreigners as any other residents of France, since we all use the same healthcare and education systems.

The first challenge for the new government will be a budget that, as Barnier says, “gets public finances under control”. France is facing a ballooning deficit and the threat of a downgrade from ratings agencies if it cannot get spending under control.

Barnier said earlier in the week that he is “discovering that the country’s budgetary situation is very serious” – most people interpreted this as preparing to announce tax hikes.

No details of these plans have been released, but it is thought likely that extra taxes will be on business and the super-rich rather than any increase in income tax or VAT.

Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance group briefed the press that one of their conditions for joining the new government was a pledge that any tax increases would not target “the middle classes or working French people”.

Immigration

But the strand of government that is most likely to affect foreigners in France, or those hoping to move here some day, is the pledge to “control immigration and promote integration”.

Again there is no detail on this, but the French government’s most recent bill to “promote integration” introduced language tests for certain types of residency card, while raising the language standard required for other processes.

We know that Barnier himself is strongly to the right on the topic of immigration – in his unsuccessful 2022 bid for the Les Républicains presidential nomination he called for a total moratorium on all immigration into France from non-EU countries.

Barnier said he would organise a referendum if elected, asking voters to approve constitutional changes and the ability of parliament to set immigrant quotas each year.

The exact composition of the new government has not been revealed – it is expected “before Sunday” – but we do know that Barnier has appointed several ministers from within the Les Républicains party.

These are reported to include Bruno Retailleau, who sparked outcry with his comments about immigrants in the context of the 2022 riots.

Speaking about the rioters who were arrested, 90 percent of whom were French citizens, he said: “OK, they’re French, but these are French people in their official identity, and unfortunately for the second and third generations (of immigrants), there is a sort of regression towards their ethnic roots.”

Clearly for some politicians, you can never be integrated enough.

New laws?

Although it’s far too early to think of any specific policies – and the government may not last long enough to actually see any laws passed – the debate around France’s recent immigration bill does provide some clues about the goals of right-wing politicians.

The Immigration law that finally passed in January changed – among other things – conditions for certain types of residency card and introduced expanded language tests, a civics test and a declaration of allegiance to ‘French values’ for foreigners living here.

READ ALSO What changes under France’s new immigration bill

However as the bill progressed through parliament, many right-wing lawmakers attempted to add amendments to toughen it up. In the end, most of the amendments were either voted down in parliament or struck out later by the Constitutional Council, but they do provide a guide to right-wing goals.

Among the rejected amendments were;

Migration quotas – the original bill contained nothing about migration quotas, but a section on this was added in the Senate (which is controlled by Les Républicains). The amendment was vague, setting out only the principle that parliament can set migration quotas – the wording of the text talked about ‘economic migration’, suggesting that these quotas would apply only to people coming to France to work, not students or retirees. The quotas would not affect asylum seekers or people arriving on a family reunification visa.

It called for parliament to have an annual debate on migration, with the ‘objective’ of setting quotas or numbers.

This was one of many amendments that was eventually struck out by the Constitutional Council – although on procedural grounds, not because of its content.

Healthcare restrictions – currently undocumented foreigners who are in France for more than three months are entitled to basic healthcare under the Aide medicale de l’Etat, with costs reimbursed by the State for hospital treatment and medication. The amendment proposed a complete ban on this for anyone who is undocumented or in an irregular immigration situation.

Benefit restrictions – currently foreigners in France can qualify for benefits such as housing allowance or certain family benefits after they have been resident for six months, the amendment aimed to increase the qualification period to five years.

Expelling radicalised foreigners – the law that was eventually passed makes it easier to expel radicalised foreigners by removing certain protections, including the restriction that people who came to France aged 13 or under cannot be expelled once they reach adulthood. The amendment aimed toughen this up still further by allowing the expulsion not just of people who are on terror watchlists, but of people who have “committed a grave and deliberate violation of the principles of the French Republic”.

Toughen asylum rules – various amendments aimed to make it easier to expel failed asylum seekers by reducing the amount of time for appeals and allowing a notice to quit the country to be served as soon as a first application is rejected.

Limit family reunification rights – rules around foreigners in France being joined by spouses or family members would also be tightened up under the amendment, with a minimum stay of 24 months before you can be joined by a spouse or family member, and extra financial requirements.

French citizenship for children born in France – currently children who are born in France to foreign parents are automatically given the right to French citizenship once they reach 18 under the droit du sol principle (although in order to do anything practical like get a passport or ID card they still need to apply for a naturalisation certificate). Several amendments proposed that this no longer be an automatic right and children must “express their will” to get citizenship – presumably through an extra admin procedures.

All the immigration measures listed above would apply to non-EU nationals – anyone who needs a visa or carte de séjour to spend more than three months in France.

SHOW COMMENTS