Paris October 31 march route settled overnight: top court rejects city-centre route, 40 metro stations closed, night curfew in force

France's Council of State ruled overnight from October 30 to 31, overturning the Paris administrative court's decision to authorise the unions' Bastille-to-Nation march through the city centre, and ruling in favour of the Interior Ministry and the Paris police prefecture. The October 31 march in Paris will therefore follow the prefecture's eastern route: departing at 2 p.m. from Porte de Bagnolet (20th arrondissement) and heading along the Boulevards des Maréchaux via Porte de Montreuil, Porte de Vincennes and Porte Dorée to Porte de Charenton (12th arrondissement), with the gathering authorised from noon to 6 p.m.

Three reversals in 24 hours

The route changed three times in 24 hours. On Friday morning the Paris police prefecture banned, under orders No. 2026-01481 and No. 2026-01484, the unions' Bastille-to-Nation route and the Yellow Vests' Bastille-to-Concorde route, redirecting both to the eastern boulevards. The Paris administrative court suspended the ban on Friday evening and authorised the city-centre route. The prefecture appealed immediately, and the Council of State, deliberating overnight, overturned the lower court, restoring the prefecture's order. It is the third Saturday of the cost-of-living mobilisation.

Saturday transport: 40 metro stations closed, tram T3 partly suspended

At the prefecture's request, transport operator RATP closed 40 metro stations on Saturday from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., from the Champs-Élysées to Bastille via République, Châtelet, Opéra and the Left Bank; tram line T3 is suspended from 11 a.m. along a large section of the Boulevards des Maréchaux. Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon are under a security perimeter from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. under order No. 2026-01482.

Night curfew and large police deployment

A curfew for the general public applies around République and Les Halles from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the nights of October 31 to November 1 and November 1 to 2 under order No. 2026-01485, with exemptions for residents, people working in the area and emergency services; a separate curfew for unaccompanied minors runs from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. from October 30 to November 2 in areas including Étoile and the Champs-Élysées. Le Monde reported about 70,000 police and gendarmes deployed, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a very high risk of urban violence on Saturday, noting Halloween masks could conceal identities.