France deploys 70,000 police for Halloween weekend
Interior minister bars marches from city centres citing very high disorder risk, Spanish study flags Blocus gatherings for 30 November the day after the general election
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Protestors clash with the police in front of Ecole Militaire on October 13, 2026 in Paris, France.
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Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the housing crisis on Oct. 3, 2026 in Madrid, Spain.
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Protesters hold placards against the reintroduction of a compulsory military service during a demonstration in Berlin on Oct. 2, 2026.
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France will deploy 70,000 police and security personnel on Saturday, matching last weekend's deployment, after interior minister Laurent Nuñez declared that 31 October "presents a very high risk of public disorder." Demonstrations could go ahead, he said, but would be barred from city centres, and the authorities would respond "extremely firmly."
The interior ministry says the deployment last weekend — when 410,000 people marched across France, by its count — prevented a repeat of the looting that struck several French cities on 17 October. Nuñez cited social-media calls for gatherings after 8pm, once the mainstream demonstrations are expected to have ended, from what he called the radical far left and some Yellow Vest networks. Labour leaders and students have called further marches; anger over wages, living costs and public services has spread beyond the student movement that began mobilising last month.
Spain's police are working from the same calendar. Barcelona is on alert after a Telegram group under the Blocus BCN name circulated calls for another gathering on Halloween, encouraging participants to wear black clothing and Halloween masks to avoid identification. On 24 October, more than 600 young people gathered in the city centre after a social-media campaign organised under the Blocus name: 23 businesses were looted or vandalised, firefighters dealt with 33 small fires, and 130 people were arrested across the weekend, 76 of them minors, according to Anadolu Agency. Around 20 more were arrested in Bilbao on Monday. Catalan police consider the violence coordinated rather than spontaneous; investigators have ruled out a political or ideological motive.
A study by the Spanish digital-intelligence firm Golden Owl, reported by Anadolu, found indications of Blocus activity in 18 locations across 11 regions of Spain, with gatherings flagged for 31 October, 2 November and 30 November.
Germany faces demonstrations of a different character: the youth alliance Gen Z Regelt expects more than 100,000 people in at least 23 cities, organised around education, healthcare, climate action and the cost of living, and directed against military conscription and austerity measures. "Young people are already protesting in France, Belgium, and Spain," an organiser said. "The movement has spread to Germany."
The last date on the Blocus calendar, 30 November, falls the day after Spain's general election.