PARIS (AP) - The Latest on France protests (all times local):
9:10 p.m.
France’s prime minister says 89,000 police officers will be deployed on Saturday across the country amid fears of new riots at anti-government protests.
Speaking Thursday on French television TF1, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said 8,000 police will be mobilized in Paris alone, “many more” than last weekend.
In the French capital, they will be equipped with a dozen armored vehicles - a first in an French urban area since 2005.
Philippe said in Paris and other places across France, “we are facing people who don’t come to protest but to destroy.”
He refused suggestions that he resign in the wake of the worst riots in Paris since 1968. He also noted that the lower house of parliament has approved the French government’s move to roll back a new gas tax, the original reason for the unrest.
___
7:10 p.m.
The Eiffel Tower has announced that it will be closed to visitors on Saturday due to the protests called in the French capital by the yellow vest movement.
Tickets bought online will be refunded, the company operating the Paris monument said on Twitter Thursday.
Several museums and other cultural sites have previously announced they will close on Saturday, fearing a repeat of the rioting in Paris city center last weekend.
___
6:40 p.m.
More than a dozen of museums and other cultural sites in Paris will be closed Saturday amid fears of new rioting at protests called in the French capital by the yellow vest movement.
Several museums and two theaters in the city center, especially those close to the famed Champs-Elysees Avenue, have announced they will not open their doors that day.
The Paris Opera has cancelled planned performances on its two Parisian sites. Two music festivals have also been postponed. The Arc de Triomphe remains closed since last weekend’s protest damaged the monument.
Paris police have also urged shops in the Champs-Elysees area to close on Saturday as a precaution. Many stores were smashed and looted in Paris last weekend.
The Louvre Museum and the Eiffel Tower still plan to remain open.
___
3:30 p.m.
France’s prime minister is promising “exceptional” security measures for protests planned in Paris and around the country Saturday, amid fears that radicals and troublemakers will take advantage of the moment to seed chaos.
Speaking Thursday to lawmakers, Edouard Philippe said the government is taking “all measures necessary” to secure the protests, bringing in additional security officers to bolster the 65,000 forces already in place around the country.
He urged “yellow vest” protesters to stay home for their own protection from those who could hijack the protests, after demonstrations in Paris last Saturday degenerated into rioting and looting. He also praised union leaders and local officials who are joining the government’s call for calm.
His government deeply damaged by weeks of protests and looking grave, Philippe acknowledged that the government’s dramatic concession this week over the fuel tax rise that sparked the protest movement “doesn’t respond” to all the protesters’ concerns.
___
1 p.m.
French left-wing opposition parties are seeking a no-confidence vote in President Emmanuel Macron’s government amid growing protests and fears of violence.
The Socialist Party, far-left Defiant France and the Communist Party are setting aside their divisions and promising to submit the request to the lower house of parliament, or National Assembly, on Monday. The assembly would hold a no-confidence motion within 48 hours of the request.
The left-wing parties alone don’t have nearly enough votes to bring down the government, since Macron’s centrist Republic on the Move party has a strong majority in the 577-seat house. But they are trying to attract support from other opposition forces.
The move is a new swipe at Macron and his government, dramatically weakened by weeks of “yellow vest” protests.
The government is trying to calm tensions but with little success. The transport minister met Thursday with truckers’ unions but they maintained their promise to go on strike Sunday.
___
9:50 a.m.
Paris police and store owners are bracing for new violence at protests Saturday, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s surrender over a fuel tax hike that unleashed weeks of unrest.
Police unions and local authorities are holding emergency meetings Thursday to strategize - while disparate groups of protesters are sharing plans on social networks and chat groups.
After the worst rioting in Paris in decades last weekend, many shops and restaurants in the center of the capital are expected to shut down Saturday, fearing a repeat of the violence.
Macron on Wednesday agreed to abandon the fuel tax hike, but protesters’ demands have now expanded to other issues.
Protesting students are disrupting schools and universities Thursday, and drivers are still blocking roads around France, now demanding broader tax cuts and government aid.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.