Paris curfew hits night trade after unrest damages 2,000 businesses

French officials imposed an 11 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew in central Paris on Tuesday after weekend unrest damaged more than 2,000 businesses, adding security pressure around the capital’s retail core. Reaction pending.

The order covers areas around Place de la République and Les Halles, two busy districts for transport, restaurants and late-night shopping. Officials said the measure followed rioting and looting over the weekend.

Paris curfew tests retail core

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said police had lost control in some cities, a rare admission that puts the government’s handling of the unrest at the center of the political response. Officials said more than 2,000 businesses were directly affected by damage.

The protests began last month with students objecting to school conditions, then widened as fuel prices and the cost of living became part of the demonstrations. That broadening matters for investors and companies because a localized public-order dispute can become a wider test of household pressure and government capacity.

A verification review said a widely shared image showing the Pink Panther character as if present at the unrest was generated by artificial intelligence, not a real protest scene. The false image shows how public-order events can be amplified online while officials are trying to contain street violence.

The immediate deadline is the 11 p.m. start of the curfew on Tuesday, Oct. 20; enforcement through 6 a.m. will be the first visible test of whether the order limits damage in central Paris.