French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu ordered local curfews in areas hit by protest violence and announced employment support for damaged shops, as officials estimated that at least 3,000 businesses were affected.
Commerce Minister Serge Papin put the number of businesses damaged or looted at 3,000 or more on Oct. 19. His figure was an estimate, with further assistance for affected businesses still being developed.
Lecornu instructed prefects to introduce partial curfews in affected areas that evening. He said they should consult mayors and chambers of commerce and industry before deciding where the restrictions would apply. His announcement did not establish which curfews ultimately took effect.
Lecornu also said an employment support measure for affected shops would begin Oct. 20. The announced measure addresses jobs at businesses facing damage, while the government continues to work out other forms of aid.
President Emmanuel Macron said in an Oct. 18 address that several hundred thousand people had demonstrated across France the previous day. He described protesters’ concerns about living costs and fuel prices, then separately addressed young people’s conditions at schools and universities.
Macron said those responsible for looting and attacks on public buildings should face legal consequences. He reported injuries among several hundred police officers and gendarmes. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged that police had lost control in some cities during the unrest, as EconoTimes previously reported.
Macron said Lecornu would convene students, teachers, unions, employers and local officials in the days following his address.
Shops were also damaged in Milan over the Oct. 17-18 weekend, Mayor Giuseppe Sala said. He reported that a shop worker he met had been assaulted on Oct. 18. In Portugal, the CGTP-IN union held Oct. 17 demonstrations in Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto over wages, pensions, living costs and public services.
CGTP-IN had expressed solidarity with an Italian union march before Oct. 17. The demonstrations took place during the same weekend, but the available accounts do not establish that violence in France prompted the events elsewhere.
CGTP-IN plans another protest Nov. 24, when it expects a final vote on Portugal’s 2027 budget.
