PARIS, October 31 (Aalimi Nation) – France entered a third consecutive weekend of youth-led protests on Saturday, with about 70,000 police and gendarmes deployed, while demonstrations planned in Germany and other European countries raised concern among authorities over possible disorder.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a "very high risk" of disorder, especially after dark on Halloween. The demonstrations began with high school students angry about the condition of schools and widened into broader anger over the cost of living.

Police in Paris banned union and yellow vest marches from the city centre. Demonstrations were required to follow a single route along the outer boulevards, from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton. Unions and student groups challenged the rules in court. President Emmanuel Macron said marches would be kept out of city centres to protect shops.

Place de la République and Les Halles, both hit by riots and looting on October 17, were closed to entry from 11 pm to 6 am on Saturday and Sunday nights. Unaccompanied minors face a 9 pm curfew around the Champs-Élysées. A Paris court on Wednesday suspended an earlier curfew on minors, calling it a "serious and illegal infringement of freedom of movement."

Business leaders voiced unease. The president of France's Chamber of Commerce, Alain Di Crescenzo, said shopkeepers "can't wait for Saturday to be over," adding that Halloween "is not helping matters" because people would be wearing masks. Authorities said face coverings would not be allowed at demonstrations.

Official counts cited by authorities put about 550,000 marchers on the streets on October 17, when rioters looted hundreds of shops. The following Saturday, about 410,000 people marched; the protests were largely peaceful, but police made more than 1,300 arrests.

In Germany, a youth initiative called "Gen Z regelt" ("Gen Z's got this") called for protests in about 30 cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne. Its demands include better education and health services, climate protection, affordable living and opposition to any return of military conscription. Organisers said more than 140,000 people had signed up online, though another report put the registered number at about 150,000 and a third expected more than 100,000, so the figures differ. Berlin police said they expected about 10,000 people at the Brandenburg Gate. Some shops on Kurfürstendamm boarded up their windows, although authorities said they knew of no specific threat of violence.

In Spain, Catalan police set their highest alert level in Barcelona after an anonymous TikTok network called Blocus urged new gatherings. Rioting there last Saturday led to about 130 arrests, mostly of minors. Police in Italy are on alert after clashes in Milan, Turin and Bologna. Calls to protest have also circulated on TikTok in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal.

Participants cite rising living costs, poorly maintained schools, public spending cuts and a sense that politicians pay little attention to young people's prospects. Governments across the continent are trying to balance the right to demonstrate against the risk of looting seen two weeks ago.

Authorities are expected to publish arrest figures after the weekend, which will show whether the protests have stayed peaceful or turned violent again.