# France deploys military as riots escalate and Macron faces criticism

> France will deploy military forces to maintain order during fresh protests this weekend as criticism mounts over President Macron's Middle East tour during the country's worst riots in years.
- Title: France deploys military as riots escalate and Macron faces…
- Summary: France will deploy military forces to maintain order during fresh protests this weekend as criticism mounts over President Macron's Middle East tour during…
- Keywords: france, emmanuel macron, riots, military deployment, curfews, laurent nuñez, sébastien lecornu, paris, middle east tour, public unrest, business, finance
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/10/20/france-protests-curfews-macron-gulf-trip.html
- Author: Chloe Taylor,Jenni Reid
- Published: 2026-10-20T08:34:18+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: france, emmanuel macron, riots, military deployment, curfews, laurent nuñez, sébastien lecornu, paris, middle east tour, public unrest, business, finance
## France to deploy military this weekend
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told lawmakers Tuesday that the government would deploy forces from France's Sentinelle force, a domestic military operation launched in two thousand fifteen following terrorist attacks in Paris, mainly on static…
## Military will free up police for law enforcement
The deployment of military forces will free up police and gendarmes, a military police force, to carry out law enforcement objectives during the expected fresh wave of protests this weekend.
## Government plans massive security presence Saturday
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said authorities planned to mobilize a massive security presence this coming Saturday, adding that the government's objective was to achieve an immediate return to order.

> an immediate return to order
## Fresh curfews where situation requires it
Lecornu said there would be fresh curfews where the situation requires it. Curfews contributed to a calm night across France, he said, even as public discontent remained high following the weekend's mass protests, looting and…
## Macron's Middle East tour draws criticism
Criticism is mounting over President Emmanuel Macron's decision to embark on a three-day tour of the Middle East as France suffers its most severe riots in many years.

> no longer a pilot in the plane
## Macron defends tour as addressing energy crisis
Macron said Sunday he was looking to address high fuel prices and secure French energy supplies through the trip to Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, while strengthening defense and security cooperation.
## More than three thousand shops looted
Fabrice Le Saché, vice president of business group MEDEF, told CNBC that the lack of enforcement means more than three thousand shops have been sacked, creating a feeling that the state cannot perform its basic…

> the state cannot do the basic duty that it is supposed to do
## Damage could exceed two thousand twenty-three riots
Jess Middleton, senior Europe analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, said the scale of damage suggests this weekend's riots could prove more costly than the unrest following Nahel Merzouk's death in two thousand twenty-three, which generated around…
## Underlying grievances likely to persist
Middleton said further violence is not inevitable, but protests linked to cost-of-living pressures and discontent over public services and education are likely to persist, putting continued pressure on the government to demonstrate it can maintain…
## Key takeaway

France is deploying military forces and imposing curfews to control fresh protests expected this weekend, while criticism grows over President Macron's decision to tour the Middle East amid severe domestic unrest.