French government imposes curfews in Paris and major cities

French authorities have imposed overnight curfews in central Paris and several major cities following a weekend of rioting and looting that left around 1,000 police officers injured and more than 2,500 people arrested.

The Paris curfew runs from 23:00 to 06:00 local time and covers Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district. Partial curfews restricting movement and gatherings have been announced in Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon, Lille and other cities.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged that police had "lost control" in some locations. President Emmanuel Macron rejected Nuñez's resignation. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said local mayors had authority to extend curfews where needed and declined to rule out a full state of emergency.

The unrest began with student protests over school conditions before trade unions and other groups joined. One demonstrator lost a hand to a police crowd-control grenade. Lecornu announced a partial unemployment fund for workers unable to work because of the disorder and said legislation would be introduced to recover damages from those responsible for the violence.