Halloween masks are banned in France as 70,000 police take to the streets facing 'high risk' of rioting, looting and arson on fresh day of protest

Published: 06:56 EDT, 31 October 2026 | Updated: 06:57 EDT, 31 October 2026 The French have banned Halloween masks during anti-government protests across the country today as they predict yet another horror weekend of intense violence.At least 4,000 people have been arrested during disturbances over the past month, with hundreds wounded.On Saturday, French interior minister Laurent Nunez said more rioting, looting and arson was inevitable on a 'high risk' day when 70,000 police and gendarmes would be on the street.He said 'face-covering masks will not be allowed,' despite the protests coinciding with Halloween, because there was 'a very high risk of public disorder'.Mr Nunez said police were aware of multiple social media calls for Halloween gatherings urging protesters 'to spark a revolution'.Many called for people to dress up and gather for 'a night of darkness'.Police meanwhile banned demonstrations in the centre of many cities including Paris, where a march will take place out on the eastern section of the ring road on Saturday.Alain Di Crescenzo, the president of France's chamber of commerce, said businesses were 'extremely worried', as many shops boarded up their windows. French gendarmerie officers are pictured in Paris ahead of fresh protests anticipated on Saturday Police vans are pictured in front of the Arc de Triomphe on the day of a protest organised by labour unions as part of nationwide protests Two security guards are seen protecting the entrance to a shop for the luxry brand Dior 'Shopkeepers can't wait for Saturday to be over,' said Mr Di Crescenzo.'The information we have is that Halloween is not helping matters, because we're going to have people wearing masks.'The French authorities have acknowledged intelligence failures that enabled earlier clashes, and have attempted to reassert control by restricting demonstrations and imposing curfews.The unrest followed weeks of demonstrations by high school students campaigning for the equivalent of around £9billion to be put into the education system.But it has now mushroomed into a mass movement encompassing multiple groups, from trade unions to Black Bloc anarchists.Left-wing politicians have been accused of stirring up trouble, while they say that paramilitary police units have provoked the crowds.Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the presidential candidate for the France Unbowed party, said too many tear gas canisters had been fired at peaceful demonstrators.He claimed: 'It seems that confrontation is the very goal of this public-order strategy. It's pathetic.' Worker install safeguards on a shop before protests are expected to begin on Saturday The French authorities have acknowledged intelligence failures that enabled earlier clashes The boarded-up front window shop of luxury brand Dior on the Champs Elysees Avenue ahead of a protest in ParisAmong those on the streets on Saturday were the infamous Yellow Vests – or Gilets Jaunes – who brought chaos to France at the start of President Emmanuel Macron's time in office.Opinion polls suggest Marine Le Pen, the far-Right National Rally candidate, could go head-to-head against Mr Mélenchon in the second round of the next presidential election in May.She is currently appealing against a conviction for embezzling taxpayers' cash from the European Parliament, so could become the first convicted criminal to enter the Élysée Palace.Mr Macron will be forced to stand down, having served the maximum two terms allowed for a serving head of state in France.