PARIS, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that the government recommends that no demonstrations be held across the country in the coming days, particularly on Saturday.
Speaking after a security council meeting, Macron said the government intended to prohibit requests to organize gatherings by people "who have no legitimacy to do so." For trade union marches formally notified to local authorities, alternative routes would be proposed to protect city centers, he added.
The prefecture of the Rhone department has banned all demonstrations in Lyon for Saturday, French television channel BFM TV reported.
In Marseille, the prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhone department announced a temporary ban on all demonstrations across the department on Saturday, no matter whether they had been formally notified to the authorities, BFM TV reported.
The nighttime curfew in the department has also been adjusted to run from 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) to 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) at the nights from Saturday to Sunday and from Sunday to Monday, and will apply to adults as well as minors since Saturday night. All public transport across the Marseille metropolitan area will be suspended from 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Saturday to 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Sunday, the report said.
In Toulon, a city in southern France, authorities have banned demonstrations in the city center from 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) to 11:59 p.m. (2159 GMT) Saturday. A temporary curfew for unaccompanied minors will also be in force in the city center from 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) Saturday to 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) Sunday, according to BFM TV.
In the city of Nice in southeastern France, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes department has banned all gatherings, marches and protest demonstrations in the city center from 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) to midnight (2200 GMT) on Saturday, citing risks to public order and violence.
In Paris, a demonstration scheduled for Saturday between Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation, organized notably at the initiative of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), will be allowed to proceed, the Paris police prefecture said Thursday.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Tuesday that the government would deploy soldiers from the French army's Operation Sentinelle to help prevent violence during the demonstrations announced for Oct. 24.
