Macron wants to ban protests in France, except union marches

French President Emmanuel Macron has said it is best for France to hold no demonstrations in the near future, and that rallies not organised by trade unions will be banned. He said this after meeting the heads of France’s intelligence services at the Élysée Palace, the newspaper Le Figaro reports.

“The general recommendation is not to hold demonstrations in the coming period,” the paper quotes Macron as saying. If organised groups such as trade unions want to take to the streets, alternative routes will be offered for their marches to protect small businesses. “If it isn’t the unions, we will ban it,” the president stressed.

Whom Macron blames for the riots

Macron accused far-left groups of organising Saturday’s riots, saying they want to “overthrow the republic”.

Le Pen extends her lead

The first poll since Saturday’s violence shows that Marine Le Pen, the candidate of the far-right National Rally, has strengthened her lead ahead of next spring’s presidential election. According to the Ifop institute, she can count on 34–38% of the vote in the first round, two percentage points more than in previous polls.

After the riots, Le Pen demanded a tougher response from the authorities and spoke of a deep crisis of trust and authority in France. She blamed the violence on the Macron administration and its immigration policy.

Polls put Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise movement, in second place with 15–20%. He is followed by the Socialist Raphaël Glucksmann and former prime minister Édouard Philippe. Macron can no longer run. In the second round, polls show, Le Pen could beat any of these candidates.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz