Protestsupdated 1h ago2 min read
Students Block Louvre in Paris, Forcing Closure Over High School Protests
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About fifty students blocked Louvre entrances, delaying the museum's opening. Blockade supported high school protests and denounced police repression.
15 outlets told this the same way.
Louvre shut by students
Students blocked access to the Louvre Museum in Paris on Monday, preventing the museum from opening at its usual time of 9 am, as the blockade was led by students supporting a high school student movement.
The Louvre published a closure message on X that said, "Dear visitors, due to a student social movement, the museum is closed for the time being. We apologize for the inconvenience caused," and the museum’s management described the action as using the museum as an "echo chamber."
Students gathered in front of the museum’s main pyramid-shaped entrance, and they carried banners reading "We want more history teachers to teach the Élysée" and "365 days of austerity" while they chanted "Macron and his police are fighting us, but we are determined to cripple the country."
The protests had been ongoing since September 17, and authorities said the actions had left more than a thousand people injured and that they had detained more than 6,800 others since they began.
Curfews and police debate
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he asked regional governors to impose a curfew on Monday evening, describing it as "partial" and "limited in scope" with the aim of protecting shops in particular. Lecornu told reporters that a state of emergency "seems a more appropriate option" than the alternative, and he said details and locations of the curfew were expected to be announced Monday afternoon after consultations with the mayors involved.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged that the police "lost control" in some cities during the weekend unrest, and he said about 60,000 police and gendarmes were deployed nationwide on Saturday. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said authorities "undoubtedly failed" to confront the unrest, and he warned that some far-left elements could pose a threat to the stability of French institutions in the coming years.
Next protests and political stakes
The Yellow Vests Coordination called for a new round of protests Saturday, and the group published on its website a map of planned actions for next Saturday, including dozens of events in different regions of the country.
Benjamin Ball, the site administrator, told AFP that there is a "huge momentum" for a second round of mobilizations, as France prepared for another wave of demonstrations after unrest and looting in several French cities.
In Marseille, authorities banned gatherings and demonstrations on Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. GMT, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez was set to visit the city on Monday afternoon after the mayor Benoît Payan criticized how order-keeping operations were managed.
The European Union said the right to peaceful protest "must be protected" in France, and EU spokesman Markus Lammert said, "Those who demonstrate peacefully must not be conflated with those who commit violence."