French government imposes curfews

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on Monday, October 19, that he had asked regional officials called prefects to impose "partial and localized curfews" to protect property and businesses. These curfews were meant to address "a very specific general delinquency of looting" that occurred over the weekend.

Curfews may expand under emergency powers

Lecornu did not rule out using the state of emergency, stating that "if necessary, we could do it," but he preferred localized curfews at this stage. The decision followed an interministerial crisis cell (CIC) meeting that discussed urban violence on October 17 and 18.

Unemployment support for affected businesses

The government also announced that starting Tuesday, employees of at least 3,000 affected businesses would be placed on "partial unemployment at 100%." This measure, requested by the President, would provide compensation at 60% of gross salary or about 72% of net salary under the standard scheme, though details on how the 100% figure was calculated remained unclear.

Support fund for damaged businesses

A specific support fund was announced for businesses affected by the violence, with discussions beginning with insurance companies to speed up assessments and payments. The government also planned to "unblock a support fund" for merchants whose stores had been vandalized, including deferring social and tax charges and providing financial assistance.

Cost of recent riots in France

The damage from the weekend's riots and looting was estimated to cost "hundreds of millions of euros" for affected merchants. This compares to the riots in June and July 2023, which cost insurers 793 million euros, with 66% of that amount covering damage to businesses and professional property.

Marseille faces uncertainty

In Marseille, where many businesses were affected, local curfews were requested but not confirmed. A separate ban on gatherings and demonstrations was imposed in the city on Monday from noon to 8 p.m. The Interior Minister's planned visit to meet with affected merchants and officials was postponed due to a meeting with the Prime Minister.