# France deploys military

News · Heat 4.2 / 10 · 5 shows · 22m airtime

On October 21 the French government said it would bring in soldiers to protect buildings and free up police ahead of protests planned for Saturday, with curfews in parts of several major cities. Riot prosecutions opened Tuesday in special fast-track courts, with many defendants receiving suspended sentences or community service. By the weekend some 70,000 police, including elite units, were on the streets, curfews covered dozens of cities and protests were banned in many; Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said arrests would exceed the 1,000 made so far. Rioting has since spread to Barcelona, Albania and Rome, where protesters stormed the Colosseum carrying Palestinian flags, and Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campaign over the weekend, pledging zero-tolerance policing.

Page: https://boilpoints.com/point/france_deploys_military_3655011707

## Segments

- [The Breakfast Club](https://boilpoints.com/u/thebreakfastclub), 2026-10-21, 0:45 to 3:00: **Reports the French troop deployment and curfews**. Opens the show with the French unrest: the military deployment and curfews ahead of Saturday's protests, the student origins of the movement, the weekend's damage and arrests, and Trump's migrant blame set against French officials' denial of any immigration link. New angle: France is deploying soldiers to guard buildings and free police ahead of Saturday's protests, with curfews in parts of several major cities.
- [Morning Wire](https://boilpoints.com/u/morningwire), 2026-10-21, 0:54 to 2:08: **Adds Macron's pledge and fast-track prosecutions**. Adds Macron's pledge that Saturday's protests will face significantly more law enforcement, his dismissal of criticism as unacceptable and stupid, and the start of fast-track riot prosecutions that ended in suspended sentences or community service. New angle: Riot prosecutions began Tuesday in special fast-track courts, with many defendants getting suspended sentences or community service.
- [Up First](https://boilpoints.com/u/upfirst), 2026-10-24, 6:55 to 11:29: **Reports the Paris march and police deployment**. Reports from the Paris march on the Saturday the government had braced for: 70,000 police including elite units, curfews in dozens of cities and protests banned in many. Adds the scale of the deployment and a fatal shooting the day before being investigated as a terrorist attack. New angle: Some 70,000 police, including elite units, are on French streets, with curfews in dozens of cities and protests banned in many.
- [Global News Podcast](https://boilpoints.com/u/globalnewspodcast), 2026-10-25, 1:48 to 4:30: **Adds the interior minister's arrest figure**. Reports from Paris on Saturday's protests: about 400,000 on the streets, 70,000 police deployed, tear gas and water cannon, and at least 1,000 arrests. Adds the interior minister's on-record statement that arrests will exceed that figure, and that the disorder was smaller than a week earlier. New angle: Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said arrests would exceed the 1,000 made so far.
- [Morning Wire](https://boilpoints.com/u/morningwire), 2026-10-26, 14:24 to 18:14: **Reports the crackdown spreading to Barcelona and Rome**. A correspondent just back from Paris describes the weekend crackdown first-hand - tear gas, shock grenades, water cannon and baton charges - and reports the unrest has spread to Barcelona, Albania and Rome's Colosseum. New angle: Rioting has spread to Barcelona, Albania and Rome, where protesters stormed the Colosseum carrying Palestinian flags.
- [Start Here](https://boilpoints.com/u/starthere), 2026-10-26, 9:20 to 16:59: **Dispatches from Paris on the weekend protests**. Correspondent dispatch from Paris on Saturday's protests: 400,000-plus nationwide and 100,000 in Paris, met by 70,000 police, 10,000 more than the week before. Adds that Le Pen formally launched her campaign over the weekend with a zero-tolerance policing pledge, and that the government says it will sit down with the student movement. New angle: Marine Le Pen officially launched her presidential campaign over the weekend, pledging zero-tolerance policing.