October 31 demonstration: the prefecture imposes the Bagnolet–Charenton route

The October 31, 2026 demonstration in Paris will take place far from the city center: the Paris police prefecture has banned the CGT and Yellow Vest marches and is requiring them to hold a joint procession between Porte de Bagnolet and Porte de Charenton.

The October 31, 2026 demonstration in Paris will go ahead, but far from the city center. In an order published on Friday, October 30, the police prefecture banned the routes submitted by the CGT and the yellow vests. The two marches are due to “converge” and proceed together between Porte de Bagnolet (the 20th arrondissement) and Porte de Charenton (the 12th), on the outskirts of the capital.

This Halloween Saturday marks the third phase of the mobilization against the high cost of living, in what the decree itself describes as “an extremely tense social climate.” Nothing is set in stone, however: the unions finally have a text to challenge in court.

What does the police prefecture order say?

Two routes have been scrapped: that of the Île-de-France inter-union coalition, between Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation, and that of the Yellow Vests coordination group, from Bastille to Concorde via République and Opéra. Both marches were due to set off at 2 p.m.

Instead, the order brings everyone together at a single rally. The prefecture says it wants to protect the right to demonstrate while preventing unrest, reports franceinfo. Police prefect Patrice Faure defends the decision: he says the route avoids the city center and vandalism while giving demonstrators visibility. He also cites the risk of an attack and the need to protect shopkeepers, according to Citoyens.com.

The directive comes from the top of the state. On Monday, October 26, in Marseille, Emmanuel Macron announced that marches would take place outside city centers, following the looting on October 17. The head of state pointed to the routes set on October 24 as a model.

What route will the procession take between Bagnolet and Charenton?

The route runs along the eastern edge of Paris, beside the périphérique and along the tram line. Following the Boulevards of the Marshals from Bagnolet to Charenton means taking Boulevard Davout, Boulevard Soult and Boulevard Poniatowski, passing Montreuil Gate, Vincennes Gate and Golden Gate, a stone’s throw from the Bois de Vincennes.

For residents of eastern Paris, the picture is changing: it is no longer shops on rue de Lyon or faubourg Saint-Antoine that are closing, but those in the 12th and 20th arrondissements, near the city gates.

The planned endpoint is causing tension on the other side of the ring road. Hervé Gicquel, LR mayor of Charenton-le-Pont (Val-de-Marne), opposes the march ending at the edge of his town and has contacted the police prefect, Le Parisien reports.

The elected official denounces the shifting of the restrictions from central Paris to neighboring municipalities. He says the Porte de Charenton is ill-suited to accommodating the dispersal of such a procession: a narrow area, densely populated residential neighborhoods, the nearby Bercy 2 shopping center and the Bois de Vincennes right beside it—all of which would make it harder to maintain public order.

Can unions still challenge the route?

That is what the next few hours are all about. On Thursday, the CGT, FO, FSU and Solidaires, along with Fage, the Union étudiante and Unef, filed an urgent appeal against the prefecture. They are asking for the order to be issued by noon on Friday at the latest, so they have time to challenge it. The inter-union group refuses to “fall into the trap” of October 24, when the ban came too late for them to take the matter to a judge.

Now that the text exists, the usual route is to file an urgent application for interim relief with the Paris Administrative Court, an emergency procedure that leaves very little time before Saturday. Elsewhere in France, this approach has already worked: on October 24 in Toulon, the administrative court authorized an alternative route following an application filed by Solidaires, according to mesinfos. We will update this article as soon as a decision is handed down.

The scenario feels all too familiar. On October 24, a route from Bastille to Nation had been approved by the police prefecture, then banned the night before in favor of a route between Porte d’Italie and Porte de Vincennes. We look back at the day in our article on the October 24 demonstration in Paris. As for the Yellow Vests, their rejection of the route to Place de la Concorde had been announced, as we explained in our article on the route the Yellow Vests wanted.

What security measures are planned for Saturday?

The government is anticipating “a very high risk of unrest” at the roughly 180 demonstrations expected across France. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez is mobilizing around 70,000 law enforcement officers, the same number as on October 24. RAID officers will also be deployed to protect the public buildings most at risk.

In Paris, the police prefecture has already banned all unauthorized gatherings from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday in several areas, including the Élysée Palace, the National Assembly and the Champs-Élysées, according to ICI Paris Île-de-France. The pot-banging protests planned for Friday evening have been canceled in the capital.

This measure comes as the policing doctrine has come under heavy criticism since the start of student protests and demonstrations over the rising cost of living. Another issue is gaining attention: menstrual problems reported after exposure to tear gas. The collective Lacrymos de sang says it has collected 9,500 accounts from women since mid-October (unusual pain, bleeding, delayed periods).

Metro, tram: what disruptions are expected on Saturday?

No closures have been announced yet. On October 24, more than 30 metro stations were closed at the request of the police prefecture, and tram line T3 was suspended along part of its route.

With a procession between Bagnolet and Charenton, the Porte de Bagnolet (line 3), Porte de Montreuil (line 9), Porte de Vincennes (line 1), Porte Dorée and Porte de Charenton (line 8) stations could be affected, as could tram lines T3a and T3b, which run along the Maréchaux. Closures are often announced the evening before, sometimes on the morning itself, so it’s best to check the RATP traffic information before setting off.

Our update on the October 31 demonstration in Paris brings together the day's practical information. The mobilization doesn't stop there: Interfac IDF has announced a student march on Tuesday, November 3, from the Panthéon to the Medef headquarters (7th arrondissement), with further action on Thursday, November 5, during the November 5, 2026 strike, for which the government also wants routes outside city centers.