French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has announced that curfews will be imposed in areas where necessary, as authorities work to restore order after weekend protests over the cost of living and problems in the education system escalated into riots, according to Al Jazeera.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Lecornu said local authorities would coordinate with mayors to decide whether to impose curfews in their respective provincial areas.
According to reports, more than half a million people gathered across France on Saturday for protests bringing together students demanding better education conditions and groups opposing high living costs. The demonstrations turned into looting and arson in multiple locations, with more than 2,500 people arrested.
Police confirmed that Monday night passed quietly, with no major incidents reported nationwide.
The government is scheduled to hold a series of meetings to step up efforts to contain the unrest, which follows weeks of student protests over the quality of education.
French Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff was due to meet leaders of social media platforms on Tuesday to discuss the protests. In a post on X on Monday, Henanff said goods looted over the weekend were being offered for sale online and called on the platforms to remove such listings.
Protesters have called for further marches next Saturday, but France's main trade unions have not yet backed the call; union representatives are expected to meet Lecornu on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Prime Minister will hold talks with political parties about the protests, ahead of presidential elections expected in April and May next year.
According to current polls, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, is in the lead, with far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Unbowed, in second place. President Emmanuel Macron cannot run again because of France's two-term limit. Both Le Pen and Melenchon have been accused of exploiting the protests ahead of next year's vote.
Alice Cohen-Morzadec, a spokesperson for the French Student Union, told Al Jazeera that the protests were an "outburst" of anger in response to Macron's policies, which she said had "ruined" students' living conditions.
"One in two students cannot eat properly. One in three students does not have stable housing. We cannot study under such conditions," Cohen-Morzadec said.
