Paris museums close, stores put up barricades as France prepares for more protests

October 24, 2026 / 3:33 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Major museums in Paris closed and authorities deployed a sizable police force for a round of new protests Saturday across France, hoping to prevent a repeat of last week's violent unrest that shocked the country.

France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said as many as 70,000 officers will be deployed nationwide, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons.

A massive turnout is expected again after more than half a million took to the streets last week.

Major museums including the Louvre, Orsay Museum, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais – where a Cézanne exhibit is on display – are closed Saturday. Art Basel, one of the world's most prestigious contemporary art fairs, opened to the public Friday, but only for the day, with the threat of unrest prompting organizers to cancel the weekend program.

Parisian shopkeepers have been barricading their stores all week. Near Place de la République in Paris, one of last weekend's hot spots, a bank branch and other businesses were boarded up with wooden panels to deter potential looters.

Some 3,000 shops across France were damaged or looted last weekend. The demonstrations first erupted last month when high school…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/