October 31 protest: court reopens the Bastille–Nation route

The 31 October 2026 demonstration in Paris is going down to the wire. On Friday, 30 October, the administrative court authorized the union march route between Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation (the 11th and 12th arrondissements), but the police prefecture is appealing to the Conseil d'État. A decision is expected overnight, according to Europe 1.

Nothing is settled yet for the inter-union march, which is still scheduled to set off at 2 p.m. this Saturday, Halloween. Depending on the ruling by the judges at the Palais-Royal, it will march between Bastille and Nation or along the route imposed by the authorities, from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton.

What does the administrative court’s decision change?

It is a clear setback for the prefecture. On Friday morning, it published an order banning the Bastille-Nation route declared by the CGT departmental union, which it deemed incompatible with public order requirements, according to Public Sénat. Seized on an emergency basis, the judge suspended the order a few hours later.

The unions had anticipated this scenario. On Thursday, the CGT, FO, FSU and Solidaires, along with Fage, l'Union étudiante and Unef, had taken the prefecture to court in emergency proceedings to obtain the order as soon as possible and leave time to challenge it. They wanted to avoid a repeat of October 24, when the ban came too late to petition a judge.

The decision comes during a busy week for the court, which had already suspended on Wednesday, October 28, the curfew imposed on minors in several neighborhoods of the capital.

Why must the Council of State rule tonight?

The response was swift. Following the ruling, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that the police prefect would appeal. He justified the ban by pointing to the extensive damage caused on October 17 and the still-high risk of public disorder, reports franceinfo.

In a freedom-protection emergency appeal, the case goes directly to the Conseil d'État, France’s highest administrative court. There are two possible outcomes. If it upholds the ruling, the march will set off from the Bastille and head to Nation. If it sides with the prefecture, the ban will take effect again and demonstrators will be redirected to the Boulevards des Maréchaux.

If the appeal is rejected, Laurent Nuñez has already warned that the demonstration will be subject to police supervision. We will update this article as soon as the decision is known.

And what about the yellow vests’ route to Place de la Concorde?

Friday evening’s legal battle concerns the trade union march. The prefect had also banned the route planned by the yellow vest coordination, from the Bastille to the Place de la Concorde via République and Opéra, and no court ruling on it had been made public at this stage.

The coordination had mentioned seeking an emergency court order or filing a complaint if its request was refused, as we explained in our article on the route sought by the Yellow Vests.

Why did the prefecture want to move the procession away from the city center?

The order came from the highest levels of government. On Monday, October 26, in Marseille, Emmanuel Macron announced that marches would be held outside city centers following the looting on October 17, following the model of the routes laid out on October 24.

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Police Prefect Patrice Faure was advocating a route along the Boulevards des Maréchaux, which was intended to avoid the city center and vandalism while still giving demonstrators visibility. He also cited the risk of a terrorist attack and the need to protect shopkeepers, according to Citoyens.com.

This decision was not universally popular, even beyond the périphérique. Hervé Gicquel, the LR mayor of Charenton-le-Pont (Val-de-Marne), did not want to see the march disperse at the edge of his town, between densely populated residential neighborhoods, the Bercy 2 shopping center and the Bois de Vincennes, according to Le Parisien.

The saga feels like déjà vu. On October 24, the Bastille–Nation route was 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 on the day in our article about the October 24 demonstration in Paris.

What security measures are planned for Saturday?

The government remains on alert. An interministerial crisis unit met on Thursday, October 29, ahead of a day that Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez describes as “very high risk.” In a letter to prefects seen by franceinfo, he focuses in particular on the evening, with calls to gather in public squares from 8 p.m. under the guise of Halloween.

About 70,000 law enforcement officers are being deployed for the roughly 180 demonstrations expected across France, the same number as on October 24, according to franceinfo. RAID personnel will also protect the most vulnerable public buildings.

In Paris, all undeclared gatherings remain banned 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. Meanwhile, debate on the budget continues in the National Assembly.

The measure comes as the policing doctrine has come under heavy criticism since the start of student protests and demonstrations over the cost of living. The Lacrymos de sang collective also says it has gathered 9,500 accounts from women reporting menstrual problems after exposure to tear gas.

Metro, RER: Which stations could close 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.

It all depends on the Conseil d’État’s decision. If the procession sets off from Bastille, the Bastille stations (lines 1, 5 and 8), Gare de Lyon, Reuilly-Diderot and Nation (lines 1, 2, 6, 9 and RER A) could be affected. If it is rerouted to the boulevards des Maréchaux, it will be Porte de Bagnolet, Porte de Montreuil, Porte de Vincennes, Porte Dorée, Porte de Charenton and tram line T3 that are most likely to be affected. Closures are often announced the evening before or on the morning itself, so it’s best to check RATP traffic updates before setting out.

Our guide to the October 31 demonstration in Paris brings together the day’s practical information. The mobilization will continue afterward: Interfac IDF has announced a student march on Tuesday, November 3, from the Panthéon to Medef headquarters (7th arrondissement), ahead of the November 5, 2026 strike, for which the government also wants routes outside city centers.