French PM Lecornu to meet unions as curfews follow weekend rioting

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was preparing to sit down with trade union organisations on Wednesday, with protest security and the government's response to high school students at the top of the agenda, according to France 24. The students launched the demonstrations that have since spread across the country. The meeting comes after a weekend of rioting and looting that unfolded alongside nationwide protests over the cost of living.

Fresh curfews were imposed across the city centres of Paris and Lyon following the first quiet night since what France 24 described as the country's most destructive rioting in years. Curfews had already been brought in in cities across France in an effort to stop further violence and looting.

Lecornu accused ultra-left radical groups of forging an 'insurrectionary plan' that led to the violent rioting over the weekend. He said a 'massive' security operation is being planned for new protests on Saturday, with the military set to reinforce the police force.

The unrest marks an escalation of a protest movement that began with high school students and grew into nationwide demonstrations focused on the cost of living. Authorities have responded with a combination of curfews and promises of heavier security deployments.

Attention now turns to Saturday's planned protests and the scale of the security operation Lecornu has promised, as well as to what the unions seek from Wednesday's talks. The curfews in Paris and Lyon remain in place.