Paris, Saturday 24 October: close to thirty metro stations shut from 9 a.m. Who decides the closures, and how to get around on a protest day

What is known on Saturday morning

Saturday 24 October is another day of protests across France. In Paris, according to press reports, the RATP is closing metro stations from 9 a.m. at the request of the police prefecture (Préfecture de police) in several areas: along the Champs-Élysées and around Concorde, in Saint-Germain and the Latin Quarter, and around Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement. Outlets give between 24 and 28 stations; the difference is whether four line 2 stations are counted separately.

The closed stations include Charles de Gaulle–Étoile (RER A as well), Concorde, Odéon, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Assemblée nationale and Daumesnil. On top of individual stations, whole sections are out of service:

• line 2 — between Barbès-Rochechouart and Nation (this includes the stretch already closed for works until 25 October);
• line 6 — between Kléber and Charles de Gaulle–Étoile;
• line 12 — between Madeleine and Notre-Dame-des-Champs.

The authorised union march is set for 2 p.m., from Place de la Bastille to Place de la Nation. On Friday the prefecture proposed a different route, which the unions rejected, so the final route is worth checking in the morning. Stations along the march (Bastille, Nation and nearby) were not on the initial list, but the RATP warned the list could change.

The Louvre and the Musée Picasso, among others, are closed on Saturday. The city is asking residents and shopkeepers to take bins, bikes and terrace furniture off the street by noon. Around République and Les Halles, night-time restrictions from the prefecture apply from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. until Monday 26 October in the morning; the exact terms are in the arrêté itself.

Who closes the stations, and why the list changes

These stations are not being closed on the transport operator's own initiative: they are closed at the police prefecture's request, and the RATP carries it out. A station can only reopen with the prefecture's go-ahead, and no reopening time has been announced this time. The practical consequence: the list of closed stations is a living document. It can change the evening before, in the morning and during the day.

This is easy for a newcomer to misread: a station that was open in the morning is not necessarily open on the way back in the evening. And the other way round: a station closed in the morning can reopen once the prefecture allows it.

How to plan a trip on a day like this

• Check just before you leave, not the night before. The RATP traffic page and route planners update in real time.
• Tell "station closed" apart from "section out of service". A closed station is one point on a line; an interrupted section means no trains run on that stretch at all. Saturday has both.
• Have a fallback. If your destination is near a closed area, it helps to know a nearby station on another line, or a bus, and to allow time for walking.
• Plan the return trip separately. In the evening, as marches break up, closures may not be the same as in the morning.
• Stay away from the march route and crowds unless you have a reason to be there.

We covered which papers to carry on protest days and what a participant in a banned protest risks on 17 and 22 October, and what the rules say when you cannot get to work in our Marseille post of 22 October.

This post is based on press reports; the official RATP and police prefecture pages could not be opened at the time of writing. Check them directly before you travel.