France announces curfews in northern cities for Monday and Tuesday nights

France has announced partial curfews for Monday and Tuesday nights in four northern cities, including Lille, to protect businesses and people. According to Gulf News, the curfews will run from 8pm to 6am. The measure follows several days of street violence, including the looting and damaging of hundreds of shops, stemming from demonstrations over the rising cost of living.

The unrest follows four weeks of protests that began with high school students and culminated in approximately half a million people participating in demonstrations across France on Saturday. The Korea Times and New Straits Times report that protesters blocked the entrance to the Louvre in Paris and that the interior minister stated police had lost control during the weekend's unrest.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu stated he is determined to restore public order and did not rule out imposing a state of emergency if needed. The unrest occurs six months before France elects a successor to President Emmanuel Macron. Similar demonstrations regarding rising prices have also been noted in Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

Brief written by urgent.news from Gulf News, The Korea Times, New Straits Times — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.