Third weekend of protests looms as tensions persist across France

In Avignon, in southern France, residents have mixed feelings about joining Saturday's protests. I think he is... It's important to support our youth. Thank you. Others, like Betty, intend to stay at home. I am... I am in favor of their demands, but I fear some violence on the sidelines. Lights. On October 17th, hundreds of thousands demonstrated peacefully across the country against the high cost of living and for better working conditions in high schools. But thousands of people clashed with police and vandalized public buildings and looted shops. Last week, hundreds of thousands demonstrated again under tighter security and protests remained largely peaceful. The Interior Ministry says a similar security operation will be in place with some 70,000 forces deployed. In several cases, protests will be banned from city centres to prevent further damages which have cost more than 1 billion euros. And with Saturday falling on Halloween, authorities fear daytime protests could spill over into evening gatherings. These calls for gatherings in public areas in the evening or even at night suggest that the day of October 31st is a day that carries a very high risk of public disorder. ... of too bad an order in the public. Keeping protests out of the centers of large cities has drawn criticism from student unions, which see the restrictions as a curb on the right to demonstrate. Some say it could lead to further anger.