PARTIAL CURFEWS INTRODUCED

PARIS, OCTOBER 19 /SRNA/ – French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu urged for curfews to be imposed in some cities to restore law and order following protests that led to looting and damage to hundreds of offices and shops.

Lecornu said declaring a state of emergency remained an option, but that curfews were better suited to the current situation.

French newspaper Le Monde reported that Paris police had announced a curfew in certain areas from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Protests have also been banned in designated parts of the city from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

"I am fully determined to restore law and order," Lecornu said after meeting with government officials.

A source in the French prime minister's office said the first curfew would last two days and begin this evening in the city of Lille and the nearby towns of Douai, Wattignies and Denain.

In Marseille, France's second-largest city, authorities have banned demonstrations and public gatherings between noon and 8 p.m.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said earlier today that violence, looting and the burning of public buildings would continue in France unless the government offered a political response to the crisis.

Addressing a crowd gathered outside City Hall, he said a plan needed to be drawn up and discussions held with secondary-school and university students who are protesting across the country to demand greater investment in education, Le Figaro reported.