French authorities have imposed overnight curfews in parts of central Paris and other cities after a weekend of riots and looting across the country. Police in Paris said a curfew would be in force between 23:00 local time ( ) and 06:00 in Place de la République, where protesters had gathered over the weekend, and the Les Halles shopping area. A ban on unauthorised gatherings has also been imposed in several other parts of the city centre.
Partial curfews variously restricting the movement of young people and gatherings were announced for cities including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon in the south as well as Lille and other towns in the north. Earlier Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who has been strongly criticised by opposition politicians over the preparedness for the disorder but whose resignation was rejected by President Emmanuel Macron, admitted police had "lost control" in some cities. The protests began last month with students demanding better school conditions, but they have have since escalated to take in a broader range of concerns, with numbers at demonstrations this weekend bolstered by trade unions and various protest groups.
More than 2,500 people have been arrested, officials said. One demonstrator's hand was blown off by a police crowd-control grenade, according to the news agency. About 1,000 police officers were injured.
Following a crisis meeting on Monday, the prime minister said local mayors were being given the power to implement curfews "where they need", without specifying which cities where they would be enforced. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who did not rule out imposing a state of emergency in the country, said the government would also set aside money to help affected areas recover from the damage, and the funding would be recovered from those behind the violence. "There will be a law that will be put in place to find ways of making sure that those who have damaged properties will have to pay," Lecornu said.
He also announced a partial unemployment fund for those who could not work as a result of the riots and looting. Meanwhile, Nuñez said 200 investigators were analysing CCTV footage to try to identify possible ringleaders. He attempted to resign on Sunday, but Macron refused "given the need for continued command of law enforcement", the Élysée Palace said.
The statement said Nuñez should be transparent over what Macron called "intelligence and foresight failings". More than 2,000 shops and other businesses have been directly impacted by the weekend's violence, the head of France's Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) says. Its head Alain Di Crescenzo told France's broadcaster RTL that damage from the riots was estimated at "hundreds of millions of euros".
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