France braces for another weekend of protests amid nationwide riots

Scenes of violence and looting rocked French cities last weekend, leaving law enforcement feeling overwhelmed. And with more protests planned for this Saturday, the government is hoping to avoid déjà vu. The deployment for this next Saturday will be massive. High school students have announced a new wave of demonstrations for October 24th over education standards and funding. The Yellow Vest movement is planning to protest over the cost of living the next three Saturdays. This time around, the government says there will be more personnel on the ground and law enforcement will have greater mobility. According to sources, riot police officers on leave have been called back in, as well as volunteer reservists. Cadets that are nearing the end of training may also be deployed. Still, business owners fear another day of chaos. Obviously, the shock was terrible. I have some employees who don't want to work Saturday because they are afraid. They were traumatized. It was a really violent experience. And unlike this past weekend, soldiers will be deployed. The army will be in charge of securing public buildings to allow police and gendarmes to respond quickly in the field. But civil liberties campaigners argue the military presence won't have much of an impact. When you talk about putting the army in the streets for demonstrations, you probably cross a line that's not been crossed before. The French Prime Minister has not declared a state of emergency, but he says he's ready to declare one if needed, which would allow soldiers to be sent to reinforce police lines.