Boarded-up windows, museums closed to visitors: How businesses in Paris are preparing for another day of protests

• France and other countries across Europe are bracing for another day of protests.
• In Paris, major tourist landmarks and storefronts are shuttering for the day.
• The interior ministry is upping its police presence and deploying 70,000 personnel to the streets.

As France prepares for another weekend of protests, some of its most famous streets and landmarks are bracing and boarding up.

French authorities expect hundreds of thousands of protesters to take to the streets on Saturday.

This weekend, the interior ministry has said it will increase police presence, deploying some 70,000 officers across the country on Saturday. The protests are expected to draw support from various groups and organizations, including the gilets jaunes, or yellow vests.

On Saturday morning, military officers and a multipurpose intervention vehicle could be seen positioned outside of Paris’ National Assembly building.

Shops on Paris’ iconic Champs-Élysées were boarded up on Friday in anticipation of another weekend of protest.

Luxury stores including Dior, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Moncler all have stores on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

French business leaders widely condemned the looting that happened on October 17.

“We cannot allow violence to destroy what generations have put so much energy into building,” Guibert wrote on X.

In central Paris, some shop owners boarded up their businesses on Friday as a precautionary measure.

Among the areas targeted in last weekend’s violence in Paris were the Marais shopping district and the Place de la République.

Major Paris tourist attractions, including the Louvre, have closed for the day.

In a notice on its website, the Louvre says the museum will be closed on Saturday and all reservations will be reimbursed. The Louvre closed its doors earlier this week after student protests blocked the entrances.

The Grand Palais and Musée d’Orsay are also closed for the day.

In an update issued on Thursday, the US Embassy in France warned Americans to avoid demonstrations and said curfews across the country, including in some Paris neighborhoods, might continue. It also advised Americans in Paris for the NFL game on Sunday, October 25, to exercise caution.

Protests are expected more broadly across Europe on Saturday, too.

Protests are also expected in countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Albania.

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