Paris court suspends night curfew for minors, finding no concrete evidence they posed a particular risk

The Paris Administrative Court on October 28 suspended the night curfew imposed on minors by the Paris police prefecture. The order, in force from October 26 to 29 between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., barred unaccompanied under-18s from circulating or remaining in several central Paris areas. The court found the prefecture had produced no concrete evidence that minors posed a particular risk during those hours.

What the order provided

Under the order reconducted on October 26, anyone under 18 was prohibited from moving around or remaining in public places in the covered areas unless accompanied by at least one legal guardian, with very limited exemptions. The areas included the vicinity of the Élysée Palace (8th arrondissement), the National Assembly (7th), the Senate (6th), parts of the Champs-Élysées and some railway stations. To justify the measure, police headquarters cited protests in recent weeks, damage to businesses and street furniture, and what it described as some shopkeepers' intention to defend themselves, if necessary by their own means.

Why the court struck it down

The urgent challenge was brought by the association Vigie Liberté. The court held that the prefecture supplied “no precise elements” showing particular risks linked to minors, and described the provision as a serious and manifestly unlawful infringement on minors' freedom of movement. As reported by Le Monde, the judge found nothing to establish that minors posed any particular risk. The ruling sets a marker for future challenges to emergency policing orders: prefects may issue them, but restricting fundamental freedoms requires concrete factual evidence.

What remains unclear

The suspension covers the curfew on minors' movement. The same order also banned, from 8 p.m. on October 26 to 6 a.m. on October 29, the presence and movement in those areas of people taking part in undeclared processions, parades and gatherings; initial reports do not specify whether that provision was also suspended, and the prefecture had not commented publicly at the time of reporting. Separate night curfews around Place de la République and Les Halles, and evening metro station closures, are different measures and fall outside this ruling.