Museums and Art Basel close as Paris braces

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said as many as 70,000 officers will be deployed nationwide for the France protests, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons.

Major museums in the capital are closed on Saturday over the protest risk:

• •The Louvre, Orsay Museum, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais all shut for the day.
• •The Grand Palais is hosting a major Cézanne exhibit, which is inaccessible on Saturday.
• •Art Basel, which opened to the public in Paris only on Friday, cancelled its weekend program because of the threat of unrest.

From classrooms to cost-of-living anger

The demonstrations first erupted last month at a high school southeast of Paris, where students protested a lack of staff and poor learning conditions, before spreading nationwide.

High school students have raised concerns about underfunded schools and staff shortages, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods, and have called for reform of the university admissions system. The movement has since grown into larger protests over soaring living costs, just months before the vote to choose Macron's successor.

More than half a million people took to the streets during last week's protests, and a massive turnout is expected again.

Victoria Ambrosini, an art critic and teacher at Saint-Denis University, said wealth is concentrated in few hands and that this can no longer continue:

After a weekend of looting and bans

Last weekend's unrest saw scenes of looting, burned-out cars and attacks on public buildings in Paris and other city centers. Some 3,000 shops across France were damaged or looted.

In Limoges, a suspected arson nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall. Near Place de la République in Paris, one of last weekend's hot spots, a bank branch and other businesses were boarded up with wooden panels.

Paris police prefect Patrice Faure initially urged Parisian shopkeepers to hire security guards, but later clarified that protecting business owners and their establishments is the government's responsibility.

Ahead of Saturday, the response has drawn objections:

• •Rallies in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier have been banned by local authorities.
• •Trade unions have criticized the rally bans, calling them violations of freedom of expression, which is protected by the constitution.

President Emmanuel Macron has said the measures are needed to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings. His popularity, meanwhile, is at its lowest since he took office in 2017.

What to watch on Saturday

Protest marches are scheduled to go ahead in Paris and Marseille. A demonstration in Orléans, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Paris, will also be closely watched.

Separately, a protest against the far right has been called for the sidelines of the two-day congress of Marine Le Pen's nationalist, anti-immigration party, ahead of next spring's presidential election. About 50 organizations are behind the call, among them labor unions, left-wing parties, student groups and anti-racism groups.

Saturday's marches in Paris and Marseille and the closely watched demonstration in Orléans are the next steps, with rallies in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier banned by local authorities.