Paris police extended restrictions on fuel in individual containers and certain pyrotechnics through Oct. 22 after protest violence, limiting access to materials authorities say were used against officers and property.
The fuel order, dated Oct. 19, applies from Oct. 20 through Oct. 22 in Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne. It bars transporting or distributing fuel, including flammable gas, in individual containers. Police may allow an exception during a check for an urgent, justified need. Similar restrictions covered Oct. 17 through Oct. 19.
A separate order bars private individuals from carrying or transferring F4 fireworks and T2 and P2 pyrotechnics, whether for payment or free. It also restricts the purchase, sale, possession and transport of specified F2 and F3 fireworks. People with the required qualifications may use the covered products for professional purposes.
Police cited incendiary material and fireworks used against officers and property during the unrest. In Paris on Oct. 17, police recorded 855 arrests, along with injuries to 297 security personnel and 111 residents and protesters. The orders say the restrictions are intended to protect people and property.
Another order restricts protective equipment intended to counter police crowd-control measures during marches and gatherings within 100 meters of high schools and higher education institutions in the four departments.
Police also imposed a limited curfew in central Paris, covering defined parts of Place de la République and Les Halles from 11 p.m. Oct. 20 to 6 a.m. Oct. 21, Paris time (5 p.m. to midnight ET). Residents, people required to work in the areas, merchants and emergency personnel are exempt. In an Oct. 19 statement about the initial curfew, Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said the measure should remain exceptional.
LCP reported that French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told lawmakers the security deployment on Oct. 24 would be “massive,” translating his remark from French. Calls for demonstrations on that date have circulated. The fuel and pyrotechnics orders expire Oct. 22.
