France readies 70,000 officers for another Saturday of protest as Trappes suspect is held in custody
After rioting and looting at earlier protests, France faces a tense weekend, and in Belgium too there are fresh calls for action.
France is bracing for another day of social unrest on Saturday 31 October. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez is again deploying some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes and warns of a very high risk of public disorder, La Libre reports. Demonstrations are allowed, but not in city centres: they must take place in outlying areas, and organisers must provide their own stewards. Shops and shopping centres will get extra protection because, according to the minister, social media posts are again calling for looting.
The government also wants to tighten the law. The French Senate approved the so-called 'casseurs-payeurs' bill and made it even tougher, La Libre writes. Anyone who knowingly takes part in a group that causes damage and fails to leave despite police orders can be held jointly liable for the damage, up to 10,000 euros per person, even without having damaged anything themselves. That collective liability in particular is drawing sharp criticism.
Meanwhile, the racist attack in Trappes, south-west of Paris, continues to grip the country. The 39-year-old suspect Kévin T., who fired at passers-by from his car on 23 October, has admitted deliberately targeting Muslims and people of African and North African origin, the anti-terrorism prosecutor said, VRT NWS reports. He denies any terrorist intent. The attack left one person dead and seven injured according to the figures cited by RTBF; VRT NWS speaks of five injured. On Thursday he was charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise and remanded in custody, RTBF reports. A search of his home turned up weapon parts among other items.
The unrest is not confined to France. A wave of student and school pupil protests is sweeping much of Europe and is being hijacked in several places by far-left rioters, HLN writes. In Brussels and Wallonia, too, the protests have already led to incidents, and new actions have been called for this weekend. Knack is following developments in a live blog.