France Deploys 70,000 Police as Protests Loom and Authorities Probe Suspected Terror Shooting Near Paris

Seventy thousand law enforcement officers, backed by helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons, are being deployed across France ahead of Saturday, as President Emmanuel Macron's government tries to prevent another weekend of violent protest. The announcement came on a day when a second source of alarm surfaced: a suspected terrorist shooting in Trappes, a city west of Paris.

In Trappes, a 39-year-old man was arrested after one person was killed and four others were wounded, among them a 12-year-old girl. Early accounts described the shooting as "relatively random." AFP reported that the suspect appeared to fire at random from a vehicle. The mayor told reporters that the person who died, and at least one of the wounded, were "of African origin."

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has since spoken more plainly to local media. "The motive may be racist," he said. "The investigation is ongoing, but this is clearly a terrorist crime." Macron said the nation was standing with the victims of what he called a "terrible ordeal."

The security posture for Saturday follows last weekend's unrest, during which Nuñez acknowledged that police had "lost control." This time, he said, his ministry is "ready for tomorrow," promising to be "extremely vigilant, extremely firm" and to "let absolutely nothing pass." Macron canceled a trip to Nigeria and Senegal that had been planned for next week.

The president laid out the approach in blunt terms. Protests requested by individuals or groups with no legitimate authority will be banned, he said, calling the rules "simple" and "common sense." His general recommendation was that there be no demonstrations in the coming days. Where trade unions submit requests, prefects will review them under the law, but alternative routes will be proposed to shield city centers, businesses and public buildings. Macron also blamed last Saturday's violence on "political and seditious acts by ultra-left groups whose aim is to bring down the Republic."

Not everyone is accepting the restrictions. Reuters reports that UNEF, the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France and one of the country's oldest student unions, says its rallies will proceed as scheduled despite police rejecting its permit requests. Police have so far approved only a union demonstration in Paris, and have denied requests from UNEF and from the Yellow Vest movement, the anti-establishment force that first emerged in 2018.

Police unions have been sharply critical of politicians. Earlier this week, Fabian Vanhemelryck, secretary general of the Alliance Police Nationale union, blamed political figures, saying they were among "those who excuse the inexcusable, justify violence" and prefer to condemn officers rather than those who attack them. He also accused the state of abandoning its police in the face of increasingly uninhibited violence while demanding that they stay silent and hold the line.

The disruption is reaching public life in Paris. The Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay will be closed, as will 24 Metro stations. The Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais, set for Sunday night at Parc des Princes, has been postponed to Monday evening. The NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints at Stade de France, just north of central Paris, remains scheduled for Sunday afternoon, though some surrounding events have been canceled. That stadium was the site of the France-Germany match on Nov. 13, 2015, when explosions were heard outside during the terror attacks and fans, with then-President François Hollande present, were held inside for hours.

What to watch next: whether the permit denials for UNEF and the Yellow Vest groups hold on Saturday, and whether investigators confirm a racist motive in Trappes.