France protests: PM urges partial curfews after nationwide unrest

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu asked local authorities to impose partial curfews on Monday, October 19, following large-scale protests across the country the previous day. Lecornu said he was determined to restore public order and did not rule out a state of emergency, but considered partial curfews more appropriate. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez admitted police lost control in some cities, with 60,000 officers deployed against over 500,000 protesters, exceeding intelligence estimates of 200,000. Nunez offered his resignation, which President Emmanuel Macron refused to maintain control over law enforcement. The October 17 protests turned violent, with about 2,000 shops looted, nearly 2,400 arrests, and around 1,000 police injured.