Paris City Hall said the capital’s police prefect announced a curfew for several parts of the city after weekend violence and looting, as France prepared support for businesses damaged in the unrest.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had directed prefects on Oct. 19 to introduce partial curfews in affected areas. He asked them to consult mayors and chambers of commerce, with protecting residents and shops among the aims, and ruled out a curfew covering all of Paris. The announcement followed Lecornu’s directive for prefects to impose local curfews.
Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said the measure should remain exceptional and temporary. He said restoring calm also required dialogue and answers to protesters’ concerns.
Commerce Minister Serge Papin gave a provisional estimate on Oct. 19 of at least 3,000 businesses damaged or looted. The figure was not presented as a Paris-only count. Lecornu said the government was preparing a dedicated fund for affected businesses and faster short-time work assistance. Ministers were discussing ways to speed insurance assessments and payments; no fund amount had been announced.
The Oct. 17 gathering included demands by high school students and concerns about living costs, according to the Paris 19th district administration. Separate figures from France’s statistics agency, Insee, showed gross domestic product was unchanged from the previous quarter in the second quarter of 2026, while household purchasing power per consumption unit fell 0.6%. Public debt reached 119.0% of GDP at quarter-end, up from 117.5% three months earlier.
The Finance Ministry scheduled an exceptional business council for Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 5 a.m. ET (09:00 UTC), bringing together business groups, banks and insurers to discuss the response. Remarks to reporters are scheduled for 6:30 a.m. ET (10:30 UTC).
