French authorities announce partial curfews as PM blames ‘ultra-left’ for exploiting protests – Europe live

<p>Curfews to apply to parts of cities including Paris, Nice and Lyon after days of violence on French streets</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/18/french-government-crisis-talks-violent-unrest-policing-macron">Macron criticises ‘unbridled violence’ after 2,400 arrests across France</a></p></li></ul><p><strong>French PM Lecornu says he has asked prefects to implement “a number of partial curfews” in certain “localised” urban areas to stop further disorder, </strong>which he attributes to “the extreme-left” and some criminal elements.</p><p><strong>We will no doubt hear more on this from local authorities,</strong> as in the example of Marseille (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/19/europe-france-protests-riots-macron-ukraine-russia-zelenskyy-sweden-latest-news-updates?page=with%3Ablock-6ad5d5088f0862b813bc4c4a#block-6ad5d5088f0862b813bc4c4a">10:32</a>).</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/19/europe-france-protests-riots-macron-ukraine-russia-zelenskyy-sweden-latest-news-updates">Continue reading...</a>