France just put Paris and Lille under curfew after losing control of its own streets

France's government just put parts of Paris and several northern cities under curfew.

And this comes hours after France's own Interior Minister acknowledged something big.

The police lost control this weekend.

So here's what's happening right now. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu asked regional authorities a few hours ago to bring in what he's calling partial and localised curfews. The goal is to stop more looting. He said quote "it is out of the question to put all of Paris under curfew".

So which parts are affected?

In Paris, two areas. Place de la République is under curfew from 11pm tonight until 6am tomorrow. The streets around Les Halles are under curfew from 10pm tonight until 6am tomorrow.

Outside the capital, it's bigger. Lille and three nearby towns — Wattignies, Douai and Denain — are under two-day curfews that started this evening at 18:00. Lyon has a curfew from 9pm tonight to 6am tomorrow. Nice has brought in a curfew just for minors. Marseille banned all public gatherings and demonstrations for most of today.

Now, why is this happening?

Because this weekend was the worst unrest France has seen in years.

More than half a million people protested on Saturday. The protests started weeks ago with high school students angry about overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and underinvestment in education. Then people angry about the cost of living joined in. The Yellow Vest movement, the same group behind the violent fuel-price protests between 2018 and 2020, led this weekend's demonstrations. And they've already called for another round this coming Saturday.

Here are the numbers. More than 2,300 people were arrested nationwide, according to France's Interior Ministry. France's Justice Minister, Gérald Darmanin, put the number even higher — more than 2,330 people taken into custody, 70 per cent of them adults. About 350 more were arrested in Paris overnight and into the next morning.

Almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured. One protester died of cardiac arrest during the Paris demonstrations, police said, though they haven't given further details.

And here's the line that's making headlines. Laurent Nunez, France's Interior Minister, acknowledged police lost control of several major cities this weekend. He said quote "we haven't lost control in some of these major cities" was not something he could tell shopkeepers whose businesses had been looted.

That's France's own Interior Minister saying the police could not hold the streets.

Nunez also pointed to what he called a lack of anticipation in how security forces were sent out. There simply weren't enough officers for the size of the crowds. He says 60,000 law enforcement staff were sent out nationwide on Saturday. Still not enough.

So what did that unrest actually look like?

Paris's Mayor, Emmanuel Grégoire, says about 30 shops were targeted in the capital in a single day, and called the scenes unbearable. Alain Di Crescenzo, who leads the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry, says more than 2,500 businesses were targeted in one day alone.

And it wasn't just shops. The 19th-century Limoges City Hall caught fire. Its roof collapsed. The building was nearly destroyed.

Here's the twist. Nunez offered to resign.

Emmanuel Macron, France's President, said no. He asked Nunez to stay in post, to keep the chain of command intact. The Élysée says Macron told Nunez to ensure full transparency over the planning and intelligence failures that led to the violence.

Macron had already addressed the country the evening before. He said anger at the unrest was total, that none of it could be justified or explained away, and that anyone trying to bring down the Republic would be held accountable.

Lecornu says a state of emergency could still come if needed. But for now, he thinks partial curfews are more appropriate.

Not everyone agrees the government is doing enough. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who leads the left-wing party La France Insoumise, blamed what he called ten disastrous years of Macron's policies. He also accused Nunez and police commanders of incompetence.

So what happens now? Nobody's said how long the curfews will last. Nobody's said whether a state of emergency is coming. Nobody's said whether schools will reopen as normal.

And the economic cost to the thousands of businesses hit hasn't even been counted yet.

The Yellow Vest movement is already calling people back onto the streets this Saturday. So nobody yet knows if this weekend was the peak of this — or just the start.