The 31 October march: the prefect banned the Bastille–Nation route, a court suspended the ban, and the Conseil d'État has the last word. How protests are declared and banned in France, and what a participant risks

What happened

For Saturday 31 October, unions and student organisations (CGT, FO, FSU, Solidaires, Fage, Union étudiante, Unef) called marches across France. In Paris they wanted to walk from Place de la Bastille to Place de la Nation; the gilets jaunes coordination wanted Bastille to Concorde.

On the morning of 30 October the Paris police prefecture issued an arrêté banning both routes, citing a risk of violence, Halloween included. Instead, the prefect allowed a gathering from 12:00 to 18:00 on the edge of the city: along the boulevards des Maréchaux between Porte de Bagnolet and Porte de Charenton, with the march setting off at 14:00.

The unions had already gone to the tribunal administratif de Paris on an urgent basis on 29 October. On Friday the court suspended the ban, which reopened the Bastille–Nation route. Interior minister Laurent Nuñez announced that the prefect would appeal to the Conseil d'État, with a ruling expected overnight. When this text was prepared, that ruling was not known — check the route in the morning.

Other cities are also keeping marches away from their centres: in Lyon the prefecture agreed a route outside the historic core; in Le Puy-en-Velay and Saint-Étienne protests are banned from the centre. In Toulouse, France 3 reports that the Haute-Garonne prefecture warned that nobody had declared a march, so any gathering would be unlawful.

Protests are declared, not 'authorised'

This is the key point for a newcomer. In France an organiser does not ask the authorities for permission — they file a declaration in advance. Article L211-1 of the Code de la sécurité intérieure requires every procession, parade and street gathering to be declared; under article L211-2 this is done no earlier than fifteen and no later than three clear days before the event (both texts are quoted in a Conseil d'État decision of 4 December 2023).

If the authority considers that the protest would disturb public order, it can ban it by an order (arrêté) notified at once to whoever filed the declaration (L211-4). A ban can be total or partial — for instance, the gathering may go ahead, but only on a set route. That is how the police prefecture itself described its 30 October move: a partial ban.

A ban can be challenged, and fast

Organisers can go to the urgent-matters judge (référé) at the administrative court, and the losing side can turn to the Conseil d'État. It can all be settled within hours: this time about a day passed between the filing and the ruling, and the appeal was heard during the night before the march. In Paris this is not unusual — this year the tribunal administratif has already suspended bans by the police prefect, for example on 7 October (a protest about Gaza) and on 3 April.

The practical takeaway: a protest's status can change late the evening before or overnight. Check on the morning itself — the prefecture's website and accounts, the organisers, RATP.

What a participant risks

Taking part in a march that has been banned is a fourth-class contravention (article R644-4 of the Code pénal). According to France 3, the Haute-Garonne prefecture put the fine for a participant at €135; an organiser faces up to 6 months' imprisonment and a €7,500 fine.

On 27 October the Senate voted for an amendment that would make joining a banned protest a délit, with a possible sentence of up to six months. This is not the law in force: the text still needs final adoption and publication in the Journal officiel.

For a foreign resident, the rules are the same as for a French national. We covered the rights that apply in garde à vue after the 24 October protests.

If you are not marching

• Metro. RATP is closing some stations from early morning (including Bastille and République) and others later; line 6 and trams T3a and T3b are partly shut. The list changes during the day — check ratp.fr or the app.
• Night bans. A separate police prefecture arrêté, running until 6:00 on Monday 2 November, bans undeclared gatherings at night in several areas, including around the Élysée, the Assemblée nationale and the Champs-Élysées.

No new march dates appeared in the material we were able to open. The unions have already called a cross-sector strike for 5 November, which we covered separately.