Macron restricts protests and curfews multiply as unrest continues
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The government is reasserting its authority over public order by increasing restrictions on movement and assembly ahead of today's mobilizations. President Macron is meeting with student groups and will visit law enforcement, while local authorities have spent the lead-up issuing protest bans. In Marseille, the prefect reversed a decision to suspend all public transport, though other cities remain under curfew.
Nature is proving equally disruptive. Storm Austen has left 160,000 homes without power and 23 departments on orange alert. With wind speeds hitting 160 km/h in Brittany, the rail network has suspended several lines and the Route du Rhum village has been forced to close.
The head of the country's main anti-corruption association, Anticor, suggests the social mood is shifting in a different way. Inès Bernard is concerned that corruption appears to be losing its stigma, noting that the practice no longer seems to be something to be ashamed of.