France Deploys 70,000 Police as Halloween Protests Loom; Germany Expects 160,000 at Gen Z Rallies

France is putting 70,000 police on the streets today, Halloween, for a round of nationwide protests that the government expects to turn rough. The demonstrations are fuelled by anger over the cost of living, strained public services and President Emmanuel Macron's government.

The scale of the deployment reflects what happened two weeks ago. Riots and looting then caught security forces off guard, leaving damaged shops, public buildings and businesses in cities across France. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has promised there will be no repeat. At a news conference earlier this week he said everyone was on deck to ensure an extremely firm response to any trouble, and he described today as carrying a very high risk of unrest. Authorities are also watching for rioters using Halloween masks to hide their identities. Nunez noted that existing law already lets police ban face coverings when public order is at risk. The US Embassy has advised travellers to stay away from areas where demonstrations or large gatherings are planned.

The protests gathered pace in late September, as Macron's minority government opened talks on the 2027 budget. With public debt approaching 120% of economic output and borrowing costs rising, the government is under pressure to cut spending, which narrows its room to manoeuvre. Students angry about dilapidated schools, crowded classes and a university admissions system widely seen as unfair have been joined by trade unions and a re-emerging Yellow Vest movement demanding action on living costs. Government promises to reform education and ease fuel costs have not calmed the discontent.

The politics are shifting too. The unrest has given a boost to far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who leads opinion polls ahead of April's presidential election, while potential centrist successors to Macron remain divided. Meanwhile the government is pushing ahead with a contested law that would make rioters liable for up to €10,000 ($11,000) in damage, whether caused by themselves or by groups they are deemed to belong to. Rights groups and some lawyers argue it risks undermining the right to peaceful protest.

Across the border, Germany is bracing for its own Halloween demonstrations. Organisers say more than 160,000 people will join rallies today in a youth-led movement demanding better education and lower living costs. The protests are organised by the campaign group Gen Z regelt (Gen Z takes charge) and are planned in 34 cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. The group also opposes compulsory military service. It says many young Germans are struggling with rising costs.

The German rallies follow a wave of Gen Z-led protests across Europe this year. In Serbia, student-led activism helped unseat the country's long-time leader at the ballot box, while in France the protests have descended into rioting and looting.

German authorities expect the demonstrations to be largely peaceful but warn that extremist groups may try to exploit them. According to the federal interior ministry, parts of the far-left extremist scene and some groups linked to foreign extremist movements have joined efforts to mobilise support. Roman Poseck, interior minister of Hesse, whose capital Wiesbaden sits near the financial hub of Frankfurt, pointed to the images from France: looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles and attacks on officers. France, he said, must not be held up as a model. In Berlin, some businesses along the luxury Kurfürstendamm boulevard have boarded up windows and planned early closures.

The article gives no casualty figures from France's earlier unrest. What to watch now is how today passes in both countries, and whether the rioter-liability law and the 2027 budget talks deepen the unrest in France before the April election.