France deployed around 70,000 security personnel on Saturday ahead of a third consecutive weekend of protests that coincides with Halloween celebrations, as authorities seek to prevent a repeat of the riots and looting that erupted on 17 October.
Shops and businesses in Paris and other cities boarded up their windows amid concerns over possible violence, while more than 40 Paris metro stations were due to remain closed and tram services disrupted.
The demonstrations come against an increasingly tense political backdrop, with presidential elections six months away and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading opinion polls.
President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that it was "not normal" for France to be experiencing such "turmoil" so close to a presidential election.
An aide to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said authorities expected street violence on a scale "comparable" to that seen two weeks ago, when clashes, looted shops and burning public buildings made headlines around the world.
France on tenterhooks
The protest movement brings together Yellow Vest activists, trade unions and students. Initially focused on the rising cost of living, inequality and deteriorating educational conditions, the demonstrations have broadened to include demands for greater protection of civil liberties and the right to protest.
A police source spoke of "considerable nervousness" among authorities, saying there was no reason to assume the demonstrations would pass without incident.
Business owners have also expressed concern.
Masks expected
"Shopkeepers can't wait for Saturday to be over," Alain Di Crescenzo, president of France's Chamber of Commerce, told France Inter, adding that Halloween was complicating the situation because large numbers of people were expected to be wearing masks.
Ahead of the protests, businesses across France covered shopfronts with wooden boards. One message written on protective plywood outside a Paris business read: "Behind these boards, there is neither power nor an enemy. Just a family and its work."
Nunez warned on Thursday of a "very high risk of public disorder" and said demonstrations would be permitted, but not in city centres.
The Paris police prefecture had sought to ban a planned march from Bastille to Nation in eastern Paris, but a court overturned the ban.
Authorities said they had detected social media calls for gatherings on Saturday evening, with some posts urging participants to spark a "revolution" and join a "night of darkness".
The interior minister also warned that demonstrators would not be permitted to wear masks concealing their faces.
Source: AFP
