France bans face coverings at Halloween protests amid disorder fears

France banned face-covering masks at anti-government protests on Halloween, as authorities warned of a high risk of disorder and deployed 70,000 police and gendarmes. The restrictions reflect concerns that social media calls for masked gatherings could intensify unrest, which has spread beyond its original campaign and disrupted businesses.

At least 4,000 people have been arrested and hundreds wounded during disturbances over the past month. Demonstrations were barred from central areas in several cities, including Paris, where a march was moved to the eastern ring road; many shops boarded up their windows. The protests began with students seeking around £9 billion for education and have since drawn in trade unions, Yellow Vest demonstrators and other groups, amid disputes over police tactics.