France, stained by violent protests last weekend, is implementing regional partial curfews for a second consecutive day.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced via social media on the local time 20th that "the curfews imposed in specific areas overnight helped calm the situation," adding, "There will be new curfew measures wherever necessary tonight."

Lecornu added that "the decision on curfews will be made on the ground by local prefects in consultation with mayors."

Across France on the 17th, approximately 500,000 people staged large-scale protests to protest against insufficient public sector investment in education and high inflation.

The protests turned violent as some participants committed arson on public facilities, looted stores, and vandalized property.

The looting continued into the night of the 18th.

In response, the French government recommended restrictive measures such as curfews to various regions, and partial curfews were enforced overnight on the 20th in the capital Paris and northern cities like Lille.

Bordeaux in the southwest and Nice in the southern region announced they would maintain curfews for several days.

According to AFP, a helicopter shone its lights from the sky above Place de la République in Paris, where a curfew was in effect from the night of the 19th to the early hours of the 20th, to monitor compliance with the curfew.

In Lyon, although a ban on assemblies was issued, about 500 people gathered in front of the local tourism office building.

Organizers said the crowd gathered with candles to show solidarity with local merchants who suffered looting damage at the building, which had been damaged by arson during the weekend protests.

Local governments across France are keeping their guard up.

David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes, told RTL Radio, "While it is a relief that the situation calmed down last night, we expect the next wave to come."

It is estimated that around 3,000 stores nationwide suffered damage due to this violence.

According to Bloomberg, the global head of insurance at Morningstar DBRS estimated the economic cost of the unrest in a report at 1 billion to 1.2 billion euros, equivalent to about 1.5 trillion to 1.8 trillion Korean won.

In a statement issued the previous day, the Paris Merchants Association emphasized, "It is not a normal situation that we have to hire private security firms to protect the safety of our facilities."

They urged government action, stating, "Paris and our neighborhoods represent the image of France, and such incidents are ruining our country's reputation."

Patrick Martin, head of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), denounced the state for failing to respond to the riots.

French Minister of Economy Roland Lescure held a meeting with business associations, banks, and the insurance industry on the 20th, promising to unveil measures to support damaged merchants.

(Photo: Getty Images)