70,000 Police and Elite Counterterrorism Units Deployed Amid Paris Outskirts Shooting

[Anchor]

The French government has decided to deploy 70,000 police and gendarmes and close major tourist facilities in preparation for massive protests this weekend. Tensions have reached a peak after a random shooting in the outskirts of Paris resulted in fatalities.

Reporter Baegun has the details.

[Reporter]

Shops in downtown Paris, France, have boarded up their windows with wooden panels.

This is to prepare for vandalism and looting ahead of large-scale protests.

World-famous tourist attractions, including the Louvre Museum and the Orsay Museum, have also decided to close their doors for the day on Saturday.

[Fabian Hernandez / Tourist]: "It is truly unfortunate. I came to see the art fair, but the weekend event has been canceled, so we can't go in."

The weekend protests a week ago drew over 500,000 participants across France, with some demonstrators looting shops and setting fires, turning the demonstrations violent.

To prevent this, the French government has decided to deploy 70,000 personnel, including police and gendarmes, for this weekend's protests.

It announced that armored vehicles and water cannons, as well as elite counterterrorism special forces, will be mobilized.

[Laurent Nunez / French Interior Minister]: "We will respond decisively to those who vandalize, loot, and commit various acts of violence."

Meanwhile, on the morning of the 23rd local time, a random shooting incident occurred in the western suburban towns of Trappes and La Verriere near Paris.

A man drove around shooting indiscriminately at a gas station, a medical facility, and a playground, leaving one person dead and five others injured, including a 12-year-old girl.

[Emmanuel Macron / French President]: "The victims were targeted solely because of their skin color or religion."

The suspect has been apprehended by the police, and France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office is investigating the possibility of a racially and religiously motivated terrorist act.

(Video Editing: Park Chun-bae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.