Paris October 31 'Act III' march: Yellow Vests file Bastille-to-Concorde route, clashing with Macron's 'outside city centres' order

The Yellow Vests coordinating group formally filed its route for the October 31 'Act III' demonstration with the Paris police prefecture on October 27: starting at Place de la Bastille, then Boulevard Beaumarchais, Boulevard du Temple, Place de la République, the Grands Boulevards, Place de l'Opéra, Place de la Madeleine and Rue Royale, finishing at Place de la Concorde with the National Assembly as the destination. According to Le Parisien, the route cuts straight through central Paris, directly contradicting President Emmanuel Macron's directive, and the prefecture has not yet issued a decision.

Macron: marches must stay outside city centres

Speaking from Marseille on October 26, Macron said the routes for the demonstrations on October 31 and then November 5 would be set outside city centres, to prevent further looting and protect businesses. He pointed to October 24, when the Paris police prefecture pushed the march to the capital's outskirts, between Porte d'Italie and Porte de Vincennes, which he said kept order without denying anyone the right to demonstrate. On October 24, 410,000 people marched across France according to the Interior Ministry (nearly 800,000 according to the CGT), including 110,000 in Paris (250,000 according to the CGT); the Paris police prefecture recorded 142 arrests, 120 of which led to custody. A week earlier, on October 17, the capital had seen 855 arrests amid looting in the city centre.

'Act III' shifts focus: protesting for the right to protest

The tone has changed in two weeks: where October 17 focused on the cost of living and fuel prices, the Yellow Vests now denounce what they call the government's 'authoritarian drift', demanding curfews be lifted, detained protesters granted amnesty, investigations into law-enforcement violence, and a general convention bringing together all mobilized sectors. The programme also includes a pot-and-pan protest outside the National Assembly from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on October 30, rallies and sit-ins at 2 p.m. on October 31 outside the National Assembly and town halls across France, and an all-sector strike on November 5 as the next step. On transport, no closures have been announced yet for October 31, but the precedent of October 24 — when 24 metro stations were closed from 9 a.m. — means stations around Bastille, République, Opéra and Madeleine could still be affected; travellers should check prefecture orders and RATP updates before setting out.