Despite Protest Bans, Weekend Rallies Set to Go Ahead... Heightened Tension

[Anchor]

France has issued a ban on protests to prevent further violence. With protesters maintaining their stance to push ahead with weekend rallies as scheduled, another major wave of chaos and clashes is anticipated.

Reporter Park Jaehyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

It has been six days since protesters and police clashed and violence broke out across France.

While a nighttime curfew has been enforced in Paris for three consecutive days, the French government has issued protest bans in major cities, citing the need to prevent additional violence.

On the 24th local time, when large-scale demonstrations are scheduled, authorities have decided to completely restrict protests except for those organized by labor unions.

[Emmanuel Macron / French President: We have witnessed political and even instigative acts committed by far-left organizations aiming to dismantle the Republic. We will ban protests by groups other than labor unions as much as possible to maintain calm and protect shops and public buildings.]

Previously, numerous regions including Paris, Lyon, Lille, and Grenoble also independently issued protest bans.

The decisions were made on the grounds that protest organizers lack the ability to prevent violence and property damage, and significant disruptions to public order are feared.

However, thousands of people took to the streets in Paris today (the 23rd) to protest despite the ban.

Organizers claimed that a court had accepted their request to revoke the protest ban.

[Gaël Quirante / Protest Organizer: The government has resolved nothing after large-scale gatherings. When there is social anger, the right to demonstrate must be addressed.]

Student groups plan to push ahead with large-scale demonstrations on the 24th, and with the "Yellow Vests" movement—which led massive anti-establishment protests in 2018—joining in, the likelihood of clashes between protesters and police is growing even higher.

The French Ministry of Culture has decided to close major museums in Paris, including the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, on the day of the large-scale protests, and the Art Basel Paris international art fair decided to close on the 23rd, one day ahead of its original schedule.

Luxury stores in downtown Paris have boarded up their windows with wooden panels in preparation for vandalism and looting.

Amid extreme turmoil within France, French government bond yields have hit their highest level since 2002.

[Video Editing: Won Hyeong-hee]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.