PARIS, Oct 24 — France will deploy about 70,000 police nationwide as it braces for new protests on Saturday after some of the worst urban violence in years erupted on the sidelines of demonstrations a week ago.
Protests by high school students over learning conditions sparked a movement that has since spread nationwide, fuelled by broader anger over the rising cost of living.
About 70,000 security personnel will be deployed on Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said at a news conference in Paris, warning that calls for violence and looting were circulating on social media.
The protests have come at a critical moment for France six months ahead of elections to replace President Emmanuel Macron, with a new poll underlining far-right candidate Marine Le Pen as the frontrunner and indicating her position has been strengthened by the latest events.
