disorder

Authorities vow firm action against violence as yellow vest and student movements announce widespread demonstrations.

France’s interior minister has announced the deployment of 70,000 police officers across the country in preparation for planned protests on Saturday, coinciding with Halloween.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Thursday that security measures, including the use of armoured vehicles and water cannon introduced last week, will be strengthened.

Nationwide protests over the rising cost of living have rocked France, with some degenerating into large-scale looting and riots.

“The day of October 31 presents a very high risk of public disorder,” Nunez said at a news conference.

About 70,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilised, matching the number deployed at last week’s protests, he said, calling the move an “exceptional measure”.

Demonstrations last Saturday drew about 410,000 protesters nationwide, according to the interior ministry, though unions put the figure at roughly double that. The ministry said more than 2,700 people were arrested a week earlier.

Warning on Halloween masking

The “yellow vest” movement and student unions have called for a new day of protests on Saturday.

Nunez warned demonstrators against using Halloween as “a legitimate reason to hide one’s face” to cause disturbances in public areas.

He told reporters demonstrations would be allowed, but “not in city centres, where there is a risk of public disorder”.

The interior minister issued a warning to far-right groups that clashed with left-wing protesters at rallies in about 15 French cities.

“We will tolerate no excesses,” he said, and pledged an “extremely firm” response.

Nunez accused the “ultra-left” movement and some yellow vest activists of circulating messages on social media promoting demonstrations on Halloween evening that called for a “revolution”.

“These gatherings will be banned,” he said.

The yellow vest movement has already announced a “third act” of its protests on Halloween and called for demonstrations outside the National Assembly and all town halls in the country.

It is unclear when Billy Joel will perform again.

The 77-year-old singer has to take “a series of tests” before being able to tour again, he told the Hollywood Reporter in a health update following his 2025 brain disorder diagnosis.

“I’m not allowed to drive,” Joel said in the interview published Thursday. “And I can’t do performances because what the neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion.”

Joel canceled concerts in May 2025 after revealing two months before that he had a brain disorder known as normal pressure hydrocephalus, or NPH, which causes physical and mental issues.

“This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance,” Joel said in a statement on his Instagram in May 2025. “Under his doctor’s instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.”

NPH is a brain disorder in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain’s ventricles, according to the Alzheimer’s Assn. It can cause cognitive issues, difficulty walking and the loss of bladder control. Those suffering with NPH often walk with a wide stance and their bodies bent forward as if they were trying to maintain balance on a boat — a feeling that Joel described while on Bill Maher’s podcast “Club Random” on July 21, 2025.

Other symptoms include mild dementia that involves short-term memory loss, a lack of interest in daily activities and difficulty completing routine tasks.

NPH is one of the few causes of dementia that can be controlled or reversed with surgical treatment, usually involving the placement of a shunt.

It is unclear whether Joel underwent the procedure, although the “Uptown Girl” singer initially postponed his concerts in March 2025 after undergoing unspecified surgery and physical therapy.

The surgery took place just weeks after the crooner lost his balance on Feb. 22, 2025, while performing “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.; however, it is unclear if the tumble and subsequent surgery were at all related to the NPH diagnosis he revealed to the public that May.

For now, Joel reports that he is “OK” and the diagnosis is “not that serious,” per his THR interview. Neurologists have warned the singer, however, about the risks involved in performing, including that the lighting and sound can cause stress in the body.

“And [neurologists] said, ‘Well, you really shouldn’t be doing that right now.’ So they have to test me further to see if I can go back and do performing again, which I would like to be able to do,” he said.

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario and former assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla contributed to this report.