Companies, shops and art venues in France close as protests intensify

A group of companies, cultural events and museums in France announced on Friday that they intend to close their doors at the start of the weekend after protests that the country has seen recently turned violent.

The Marseille Chamber of Commerce called on businesses to close on Saturday, and organizers of the Art Basel Paris fair said the exhibition would close at the start of the week; the Louvre Museum and the Louis Vuitton Foundation will also close. Organizers, companies and event institutions said they are preparing to shut down in anticipation of further unrest.

At the same time, the National Union of Students of France (UNEF) called for gatherings on Saturday, while the Yellow Vests movement this week submitted a request to hold a protest in central Paris. The union said in a statement sent by email: "Macron is crushing the freedom to protest in our country, and spitting on the values of the Republic he claims to defend."

Local authorities announced a ban on all protests scheduled for Saturday in Marseille and Lyon, the second- and third-largest cities in France. The government also said, according to official statements, that the Ministry of Justice has carried out around 2,700 arrests since last Saturday.

France is seeking to recover from the worst violence it has seen in years, after the mass protests earlier last week were marred by riots and looting. Since then a nightly curfew has been imposed in parts of Paris and other cities.

President Emmanuel Macron is due to meet student representatives later on Friday to discuss their demands, but the union said the gatherings will go ahead. The movement began with protests organized by high school students last month over teacher shortages and deteriorating facilities.

The presidency blamed "inciting extremist left groups" for the unrest, a claim denied by the La France Insoumise party. Macron said that "illegal" protests will be banned in the coming days, adding that demonstrations organized by groups such as labor unions will be allowed to proceed but may be diverted onto alternative routes.

Workers, students and others taking part in the protests oppose cuts to public spending and are demanding higher wages to cope with rising living costs. The government says it understands those concerns but needs to keep spending under control to limit rising borrowing costs.