The local restrictions follow Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's directive to regional prefects earlier Monday and his warning that the government would declare a state of emergency "if necessary" after authorities acknowledged police had "lost control" in major cities. The US Embassy in Paris advised American citizens to avoid demonstration areas, while Iran's Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to avoid nonessential travel to France, Belgium and Italy as unrest spread across borders and U.S. President Donald Trump called on France to close its borders.
The riots grew out of a September student movement over school conditions that merged with broader cost of living protests ahead of a budget vote and a presidential election in six months. At least 2,400 people have been arrested and 997 police officers and gendarmes injured since Saturday's marches, which drew between 550,000 and 800,000 demonstrators and prompted Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to offer his resignation before President Emmanuel Macron rejected it to maintain command continuity.