标签： Europe

Fresh violence that tore through French cities during nationwide anti-austerity and cost-of-living protests last weekend has triggered sweeping restrictions on demonstrations and a massive bolstered police deployment ahead of a planned second national protest day this coming Saturday. The unrest, which left historic buildings damaged, businesses looted, and public spaces vandalized across the country, has prompted President Emmanuel Macron’s administration to draw a hard line against unauthorized gatherings while facing growing questions over security preparedness.

Last Saturday, October 17, an estimated 550,000 people across France joined marches organized by labor unions, the yellow vest (gilets jaunes) movement, and student groups. The demonstrations were rooted in widespread public anger over skyrocketing fuel prices, soaring living costs, and deteriorating conditions in French public schools. While the majority of participants protested peacefully, the day was overshadowed by rioting, arson, and looting that left multiple landmarks and commercial properties destroyed.

One of the most high-profile acts of violence targeted Lyon’s city tourism office, which is housed in a historic 19th-century building. Protesters set the structure on fire, an act Lyon Mayor Grégory Doucet described as “a tragedy.” Further damage was recorded in the central city of Limoges, where rioters set fire to Limoges City Hall, engulfing the building’s iconic clock tower and a large section of its roof in flames before the structure partially collapsed. Two suspects have been arrested in connection with an attempted murder targeting police officers who were inside the city hall when the fire broke out: a man in his 30s was detained first, followed by a 66-year-old suspect on Thursday. In Paris, rioters occupied sections of the iconic Place de la République, leaving the landmark public space heavily vandalized.

In the wake of the violence, France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez formally offered his resignation after admitting his department had vastly underestimated the scale of the protest, forecasting only 200,000 attendees compared to the actual 550,000 participants. President Macron rejected the resignation, instead ordering Nuñez to lead a review of public safety protocols, hold rioters accountable, and improve security for upcoming gatherings.

As authorities prepare for this Saturday’s planned new wave of protests, multiple cities have already implemented full bans on all public demonstrations. Lyon, France’s third-largest city, was among the first to announce a blanket prohibition on all protests in the city center this weekend. “In light of the mobilisation that is circulating and in view of the events of 17 October, the prefect has decided to prohibit by decree any demonstration in the city of Lyon this Saturday,” the Rhône prefecture confirmed in an official statement. Toulon on France’s southern Mediterranean coast, the northwestern city of Rouen, and eastern city Grenoble have all issued identical full protest bans.

Partial curfews targeting youth movement and large public gatherings have also been implemented across a swathe of major cities this week, including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon, and Lille. President Macron outlined the new national framework for protests in comments this week, clarifying that only authorized labor union demonstrations would be permitted, and these will be rerouted to alternative pre-approved paths designed to protect local businesses and critical infrastructure. “When they’re not union organisations, wherever possible, they’ll be banned,” Macron stated. The French president also accused radical far-left groups of organizing “political and even seditious acts” that aim to destabilize the French Republic, adding that the government’s top priority is restoring calm across the country.

To enforce the new restrictions, the French government has promised a “massive” deployment of law enforcement, with 20% more officers on the streets compared to last weekend’s mobilization. At least 2,500 people have been arrested across France in connection with the unrest since last weekend, and Macron held an emergency coordination meeting with senior intelligence officials and cabinet ministers on Thursday to finalize security plans for Saturday. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has reaffirmed the commitment to a heavy police presence, though some rank-and-file officers have told French media that many frontline personnel lack specialized training for managing large, chaotic crowd operations.

Paris authorities have already moved to ban multiple protest marches planned by the yellow vest movement, which was a key organizer of last weekend’s demonstrations. The unrest comes as Macron enters the final months of his second presidential term, with national presidential elections scheduled for April and May of 2025, placing heightened political pressure on the administration to regain control of public safety ahead of the vote.

Just days after being discharged from a Rome hospital following lung cancer surgery, Pope Leo XIV made his return to St Peter’s Square on Wednesday to resume his traditional weekly general audience, capping a remarkably swift recovery that has reassured followers around the globe.

According to an official statement released by the Vatican, the 71-year-old pontiff’s medical team has confirmed he will not require any additional cancer treatment after a successful procedure to remove a malignant growth from his right lung. Post-surgical pathology tests on the extracted tissue verified the initial diagnosis of localized lung adenocarcinoma, with no indication the cancer had spread beyond the affected area. The statement noted that a full oncological review after the surgery finalized the medical team’s conclusion that no further intervention is needed.

The 90-minute surgical procedure, which removed the lower lobe of Pope Leo’s right lung, took place on October 13. The pontiff had publicly announced the upcoming surgery himself during his weekly Sunday prayer service days earlier, telling the crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square that clinicians had detected a problematic nodule on his lung and that the growth had been caught at an early stage. He was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital over the weekend, just four days after the operation, and paused outside the facility to greet and thank well-wishers who had gathered to show their support.

Even while still recovering in the hospital, Pope Leo maintained his active spiritual and diplomatic agenda. Days after the surgery, photos released by the Vatican showed the pontiff leading Mass from his hospital room, standing at a makeshift altar and wearing his ceremonial green vestments. On that same day, he held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he pushed for a temporary ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky. The Pope urged Putin to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian food aid to reach trapped civilians in the blockaded city, and reiterated his longstanding call for diplomatic dialogue to end the ongoing conflict. Two days later, on Monday, he held a similar call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss peace efforts and the humanitarian situation on the ground.

Close aides to the Pope have also confirmed that he remains committed to moving forward with his planned apostolic trip to Latin America, scheduled for early November, and has no intention of delaying the journey amid his recovery. Wednesday’s general audience marked his first return to a regular public schedule since his hospitalization, signaling to Catholic communities worldwide that he is back to leading the Church amid his recovery.

After two days of back-to-back diplomatic negotiations across Oslo, Norway, and St. Petersburg, Russia, the critical question lingers: has any meaningful progress been made toward ending the nearly three-year war in Ukraine?

Norway’s prime minister characterized Tuesday’s discussions involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Steve Witkoff — U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy — and European representatives as “good and constructive.” During the Oslo meeting, participants floated the idea of a high-level trilateral summit, with the initial expectation that Witkoff’s visit to St. Petersburg would clear the path for a face-to-face meeting between Putin, Zelenskyy, and Trump to negotiate a ceasefire and a long-term peace deal.

However, Putin has so far demonstrated little willingness to sit down with Zelenskyy on neutral ground, insisting that any such meeting must take place in Moscow. The Kremlin has indicated it would be open to resuming trilateral discussions next month in Abu Dhabi, but only at the technical working level, not among top leaders.

Witkoff himself acknowledged the slow pace of progress in a post on X, admitting that “there is still important work to do” while reaffirming that “President Trump remains committed to seeing this war end.”

The most revealing assessment of the talks came from Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide, who took part in the St. Petersburg negotiations. Ushakov confirmed that Witkoff had shared details of the Oslo discussions with Putin, including what Witkoff described as “new approaches from the Europeans and Kyiv.” But the Kremlin advisor made clear he was unimpressed with the proposals, stating bluntly: “In terms of resolving the Ukraine crisis, there wasn’t much there that was useful.”

When pressed by Russian state television on how close the parties are to a peace deal, Ushakov offered only a vague, noncommittal response: “I don’t know how close we are getting, but things are moving in that direction.”

This ambiguity points to a broader reality: Putin currently feels no urgent pressure to wrap up the conflict. He is well aware that Ukraine’s air defense systems are under unprecedented strain, and that the arrival of winter creates an opportunity to ramp up missile and drone strikes on energy infrastructure in an attempt to force Ukrainian submission. Additionally, Putin knows that the sitting U.S. president has repeatedly expressed a desire to pursue a closer, more economically beneficial relationship with Moscow.

In recent weeks, Trump has paused the implementation of several new sanctions against Russia, approved the purchase of Russian diesel, and issued sharp public criticism of Zelenskyy — all moves that reduce diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin. This shift has been warmly received by Russian officials. “Right now Trump is the only leader in the Western world who is doing something for peace,” Evgeny Popov, a Russian member of parliament and state television anchor, remarked in an interview. When asked if this meant peace on Russia’s terms, Popov responded plainly: “Of course!”

While a trilateral summit between Putin, Zelenskyy, and Trump does not appear imminent, another high-profile meeting may go ahead next month on the sidelines of the APEC summit in China, where Putin, Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to gather. Some Russian commentators have already labeled this potential gathering “The New Yalta,” drawing a parallel to the 1945 Yalta Conference where Allied leaders Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt met to reorganize the political and territorial order of post-WWII Europe.

“Russia, China and the United States are the only superpowers right now in the world,” Popov noted. “Of course, it will be good for the entire world if our leaders meet in China.” After nearly three years of war, such a meeting would place Putin exactly where he has long sought to be: back at the center of global high-stakes politics.