French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with high school student groups at 3pm Friday, a day when demonstrations are expected across the country under heavy security. The meeting comes after weeks of student-led protests over the rising cost of living.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will travel to Limoges on Friday, a city particularly hard-hit by the violence on October 17, when its city hall was set on fire. The investigation into the fire gained momentum on Thursday with the arrest of a second suspect in the Creuse department, following the arrest on Tuesday of a first man now suspected of attempted murder of police officers.
Authorities have taken a tough stance on the protests. Lyon and Marseille banned all demonstrations on Saturday, and Macron said after meeting with intelligence services that all demonstrations not organized by workers' unions would be banned. However, an administrative court suspended a Paris police order banning a demonstration organized by university students, and hundreds of students took part in the peaceful march.
Prime Minister Lecornu met with representatives from France's political parties. Manuel Bompard, party coordinator of the left-wing France Unbowed, accused the premier of having wasted their time by refusing to address the demands of the weeks-long student protest movement.