The City of Paris is calling for the utmost vigilance on October 24. It fears further violence from rioters, whom it says are unrelated to the social movement. Last weekend, violence, looting, and vandalism affected several neighborhoods in the capital, causing significant damage to hundreds of businesses. Burned-out cars, looted stores… the city is doing everything it can to prevent further unrest.
A city preparing for a large-scale mobilization
Since yesterday, municipal services have been clearing public spaces of anything that could be used as a projectile or fuel. This primarily concerns barriers and movable construction site elements.
Crews are also systematically emptying street trash cans and removing glass recycling bins and overhead roll-off containers. They are immediately collecting bulky items and debris left on public streets. Special collection routes are removing heavy or flammable objects, and trash cans left on public streets will be removed.
The municipal police will strengthen, strictly within the scope of their authority, the protection of municipal buildings and facilities. Mediation teams will be on the ground in advance of and throughout Saturday to prevent tensions.
To avoid unpleasant surprises, the city of Paris is encouraging residents to park their cars in a secure location or far from the demonstrations, and to put away bicycles, scooters, and other vehicles.
More than 1,000 sanitation workers mobilized
Sanitation and street maintenance crews have also been mobilized to clean the streets and restore the affected areas since last Saturday evening. They will continue this weekend with more than 1,000 workers, some of whom have agreed to return from their time off. Cleanup will resume as soon as security conditions allow, following the protests.
A crisis response team was activated on Saturday at noon
The city’s crisis management team will be activated this Saturday, October 24, at noon, in coordination with the Police Prefecture. It will monitor the situation in real time and coordinate responses in public spaces. The goal? To prevent damage, protect public infrastructure, and restore public spaces to their original condition as soon as possible. The idea, of course, is to avoid further unrest as much as possible…