PARIS, April 30 (Xinhua) -- France planned, during May Day march, tough security stance including the deployment of thousands of police officers and reinforced check operations notably in Paris to prevent ultra activists from dragging the capital into chaos, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Tuesday.
"According to the information we have, between 1,000 and 2,000 radical activists, that could be backed by individuals from abroad, could try to spread disorder and violence. They should be joined by several thousands of what is now called ultra-yellow, these 'Yellow Vests' which have been gradually radicalized," Castaner told reporters.
The minister pledged "the greatest vigilance", reinforcing security notably in Paris via the deployment of 7,400 police and gendarmes and intensifying preventive checks in sensitive sites including train stations.
He recommended rapid response to prevent troublemakers from triggering chaotic scenes and arrest consistently violent individuals.
Fearing violence and destruction of public buildings that have sometimes tainted similar demonstrations, authorities had banned protests and barricaded the neighborhood near the Elysee Palace, the National Assembly and Notre Dame Cathedral.
They also called on Parisian shops and restaurants to close by Wednesday afternoon and to erect barricades and boarded up windows on risks of looting.
