France: 70,000 Police, City Protest Bans and Museum Closures for Saturday’s Protests

October 24, 2026 — Update — France is holding a second Saturday of nationwide protests today after a week of riots and curfews. Several cities have banned demonstrations, Paris has closed metro stations and major museums, and about 70,000 police and gendarmes are on duty. What’s new since our October 23 report: the protest bans, closures and security plans for today. The Paris curfew still runs until Monday, October 26.

Today’s protests and bans

Scale: Connexion France reports more than 600 protests planned across the country.
Paris: The Yellow Vest march from Bastille to Opéra is banned. Police had approved a CGT union march from Bastille to Nation starting at 2 p.m. Travel Tourister reported this morning that the route was moved at the last minute to Porte d’Italie–Porte de Vincennes, authorised from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The unions dispute that change and have gone to court, so check the final route locally.
Cities with bans: All protests are banned in Lyon and across Bouches-du-Rhône, which includes Marseille. Nice has also banned protests. Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre and Toulon have banned protests in their city centres. Some bans are being challenged in court.
Security: About 70,000 police and gendarmes are deployed, around 20% more than on October 17. The Sentinelle military force is supporting police.

Curfew and closures in Paris

What	Details
Night curfew	11 p.m.–6 a.m. around Place de la République and Les Halles, every night until 6 a.m. Monday, October 26
Metro stations	24 stations closed from 9 a.m. today, from the Champs-Élysées area to the Latin Quarter. Trains pass through without stopping. No reopening time announced.
Line 2	No service between Barbès-Rochechouart and Nation
Line 12	No trains between Madeleine and Notre-Dame-des-Champs
From 10 p.m.	République, Châtelet, Les Halles and Châtelet–Les Halles stations closed (reported by Travel Tourister)
Museums	Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée national Picasso and all Grand Palais exhibitions closed today. Louvre bookings are being refunded automatically, according to Travel Tourister.

Trains, flights and other transport

No national SNCF, RATP or airline strike has been confirmed for today. The sources we checked reported no protest-related airport closures or flight cancellations.
In the south, links between Aix and Marseille and between Aix and Salon are suspended from 5 a.m. October 24 to 5 a.m. October 25. A planned full shutdown of Marseille’s buses, metro and trams was dropped on October 23.
Bordeaux warned that trams and buses could be disrupted, with temporary stop changes and detours.
Coming up: The CFDT, CGT, FO, Unsa and FSU unions have called a cross-sector strike and demonstrations for November 5. Which transport services will be affected is TBA.

What it means for airline travelers

Plan airport trips around the curfew. Châtelet–Les Halles is a major RER hub for trains to CDG and Orly, and it sits inside the curfew zone. If you have an early departure or late arrival, book a taxi or car service ahead of time and allow extra time.
Check closures before you go. Look up station and museum closures on the morning you travel. Officials say the lists may change at short notice.
Stay away from protests. Avoid march routes and banned zones. Recent protests turned into looting and arson after dark.
Keep your plans flexible this weekend. Flights are running, but road closures and metro gaps can make you miss a flight. When flying standby, aim for an earlier flight so you have a second chance if you don’t get on.
Watch November 5. If you are flying in or out of France that day, keep checking SNCF Connect and RATP for strike notices.
Sign up for alerts. Enroll in STEP or Registration of Canadians Abroad.