New curfews were imposed in the city centers of Paris and Lyon on Tuesday after the first quiet night since the most destructive riots in France in years, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said a “massive” security operation was planned for new protests on Saturday. Paris police said a curfew in two designated areas – around the Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district – had restored “public peace” overnight and would remain in force “for as long as necessary”. The curfew zones exclude other areas affected on Saturday, including the Champs-Elysees and the area around the Saint-Lazare train station and parts of Rue de Turbigo in central Paris, where protesters set up barricades and lit bonfires. In Lyon, one of France’s largest cities, authorities also renewed a curfew in the city center from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., saying there had been no disturbances overnight. Story continues below ad 1:33 The far-right movement in France is trying to gain ground before the elections, after violent protests. Marseille, France’s second-largest city, imposed a curfew for unaccompanied minors starting Tuesday night. Lecornu said the specific curfews “helped keep things calm last night.” Student unions and groups from the “yellow vest” movement, whose fuel price protests rocked France in 2018 and 2019, called for another day of protests on Saturday. Soldiers from Sentinelle, the counterterrorism operation that has patrolled French cities since the 2015 Islamic State group attacks, will take over guarding sensitive sites to free up more police and gendarmes for crowd control. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told lawmakers Tuesday. “The deployment (of police forces) for next Saturday will be massive,” Lecornu told the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, without giving figures. Suspect arrested over Limoges town hall fire Police on Tuesday arrested a suspect in the arson attack that burned down the historic town hall of Limoges in central France, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said, adding that the person was being held in police custody and may not have acted alone. French media reported that the suspect was close to radical environmental movements and was on a watch list of people considered potential threats to national security. Darmanin declined to comment on the suspect’s profile, but said far-left groups appeared to have organized to attack state symbols across France. Get the latest national news Get the latest Canadian news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you don’t miss any breaking news. Images of the 143-year-old building on fire and its collapsing bell tower spread widely on the Internet over the weekend. US Vice President JD Vance shared it on US President Donald Trump, who also aired the video, said migrants had “taken over France”. 2:09 French Prime Minister calls for partial curfews in parts of France after violent protests. Instead, French officials have blamed the violence on far-left groups and opportunistic looters. At least 2,400 people were arrested after rioters in cities across France clashed with police, set cars on fire and stormed public buildings on Saturday, during nationwide protests against rising costs of living and poor conditions in schools. On Sunday night, small groups set fire to garbage containers, bicycles and other objects in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities. In Paris on Monday night, a police helicopter flew overnight over the Place de la République, the focal point of the weekend’s clashes, sweeping the square with a searchlight to check that the curfew was being respected. More on the world More videos Early Tuesday morning, workers used a crane to remove a giant fluorescent yellow vest covering the statue in the center of the plaza, then used pressure washers to remove graffiti from the monument. Louise Belanger, a volunteer who came to help with the cleanup, said she still couldn’t comprehend the level of violence. “Normally when you are 20 years old you should be optimistic, you should start building something (…) If you are only anger and violence, what are you going to do? This is sad for everyone in society,” he said. Courts promise ‘extremely firm’ response Speaking in Lille, northern France, Darmanin said 149 people had been jailed across the country as of midday Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Justice, of the approximately 2,400 people arrested since Saturday, more than 800 have been referred to prosecutors, most of whom were immediately tried or ordered to appear at a later hearing. In Paris alone, some 300 people have been brought before prosecutors following the Oct. 17 protests, the city’s prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Darmanin said he had asked prosecutors to appeal any sentence they considered too lenient. “It is extremely rare, if not unheard of, for people with no criminal record to end up in prison for property crimes,” he said, arguing that the French justice system will be “extremely firm.” 1:46 Thousands arrested, hundreds of officers injured amid protests in Europe In Lille, he said, three men between 20 and 25 years old with no criminal record were each sentenced to 10 months in prison and immediately jailed for looting a video game store in the city’s old town. The National Assembly is launching an investigation into the October 17 violence and the authorities’ policing strategy, said its spokesperson, Yaël Braun-Pivet, with results expected “by the end of the year.” Protests continued on a smaller scale on Tuesday. About 400 people, mostly high school and university students, marched in the western city of Rennes, and about 750 in Lyon, in pouring rain.