Emmanuel Macron has a secret bunker outside Paris where he could take refuge if the Elysee Palace came under attack during riots, according to a new book.
The alleged hideout in the Paris suburbs is described in La Nouvelle Armée des Ombres (The New Army of Shadows), written by investigative journalists Pierre Gastineau, Antoine Izambard and Franck Renaud.
The revelation comes as France faces a wave of nationwide protests directed at President Macron’s government.
Demonstrators are demanding higher wages and supporting a student-led movement that began over staff shortages and inadequate education funding.
French trade unions and student groups are due to stage another day of protests today. Separately, the Yellow Vests movement plans to hold a rally in central Paris despite a ban imposed by authorities.
The book says preparations for the bunker were partly driven by the 2018 Yellow Vest uprising, during which Mr Macron was confronted while visiting Le Puy-en-Velay.
‘The government trembled’ during the unrest, one of the authors told France Inter on Friday.
According to the authors, French officials also studied the riots of February 1934, which brought down a government, and began developing plans to evacuate the president in the event of severe civil disorder.
French President Emmanuel Macron prepared to meet the French astronaut, a member of the European Space Agency ESA at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on Monday
A protester threw back a tear gas canister during a demonstration as part of a nationwide day of actions as unions hold strikes alongside student-led demonstrations that have gripped the country for weeks in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday
Police officers are pictured in front of rubbish bin fire during a demonstration that took place between Place de la République and Place de la Nation in Paris on Thursday
The authors claim officials fear a victory for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally could trigger a ‘third round’ of unrest, with radical left-wing activists, young people and rural militants taking to the streets to contest the result.
They also say a victory for hard-left politician Jean-Luc Melenchon, who current polling suggests could reach the presidential run-off, might lead to ‘passive resistance’ within the police force.
After speaking with senior sources, the authors say Paris police chief Patrice Faure has chaired a series of meetings to prepare for the possibility of an insurrection.
France’s foreign intelligence agency, meanwhile, has rehearsed scenarios involving possible electoral interference.
Paris police have also spent an entire day working without smartphones to simulate the effects of a major cyberattack that could cripple communications.
The claims follow a warning from a senior spy in April that major revolts were imminent in France.
However, intelligence chiefs reportedly underestimated the scale of the disorder expected on October 17. Their forecast of 60,000 protesters fell far short of the half a million people who eventually took to the streets.
The unrest comes less than six months before voters choose a new head of state to replace centrist President Macron, with the hard right ahead in opinion polls.
Protesters burn a garbage bin during a demonstration as part of a nationwide day of actions as unions hold strikes alongside student-led demonstrations that have gripped the country for weeks in Bordeaux on November 5
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A protester dressed as Deadpool superhero, rides a toy unicorn during a demonstration demanding higher wages and supporting high school protest movement, in Lyon, France, Thursday, November 5
Student organisations and trade unions have called an authorised march through central Paris under the banner of opposition to the rising cost of living and support for young people.
Yellow Vest activists have declined to join the march. Instead, they have called a separate gathering at Place de la Concorde, close to the lower house of parliament and the presidential palace, despite an official ban on demonstrations in the area.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 70,000 police officers and security personnel would be deployed nationwide.
‘If there are any rioters or looters… we’ll be ready and waiting for them,’ he said.
Most of the demonstrations have remained peaceful, although there have been occasional clashes with police and acts of vandalism on the margins. October 17 saw France suffer its worst rioting in years.
On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of striking workers marched across France in largely orderly protests, though demonstrators and police clashed in several cities.
The protests have tapped into anger over rising fuel prices and broader resentment that has lingered since the Yellow Vest demonstrations.
The Yellow Vest movement first gained momentum through mass grassroots protests against Mr Macron’s government over planned fuel-tax increases. It has since called for its banned rally to go ahead.
A car burns as demonstrators look on during a nationwide day of strikes and protests in Lyon, France, November 5
In 2018, thousands of protesters wore the high-visibility vests that French motorists are legally required to keep in their vehicles, giving the movement its name.
Authorities are determined to avoid a repeat of the rioting and looting that marred the October 17 protests. The interior ministry said Thursday’s demonstrations had ‘generally gone well’, despite 642 arrests.
The police response has drawn criticism for being excessive, with dozens of internal investigations opened into allegations of brutality against protesters.
Following several apparent incidents involving AFP reporters covering the protests, the international news agency on Friday called for its journalists to be protected.
Reporters Without Borders, known by its French initials RSF, said it had documented 40 cases in which security forces obstructed journalists covering the demonstrations. Twenty-one of those cases involved physical violence.
Mr Macron’s government is struggling to respond to the protests as he moves towards the end of his presidency in May 2027.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is due to meet representatives of trade unions and employers’ organisations on Monday to discuss wages and purchasing power.
‘The only thing that will bring the protests to an end is a response to the demands that have been put forward for several weeks by workers, civil servants, young people and pensioners,’ an inter-union coalition said on Friday.
The unions are seeking an increase in the minimum wage, which has not received a discretionary rise since 2012, as well as nationwide pay increases, tax reform and improved learning conditions for young people.
With the European Union’s second-largest economy under pressure to reduce its debt, the government has limited room to satisfy the protesters’ demands.