La Réunion bans alcohol, fuel, weapons to ease police work

The prefect’s administrative bans take effect Friday 23 October 2026 at 6:00 pm and run until Monday 26 October at 6:00 am. Announced Thursday 22 October, the package covers alcohol, fireworks, fuel and weapons across La Réunion, and is designed to prevent any resurgence of urban violence on the margins of weekend demonstrations while easing the work of police and emergency services throughout the department.

The restrictions are broad. Drinking alcohol in public spaces is prohibited, although café terraces, bars and restaurants are exempt. The sale, carrying, transport and use of fireworks and pyrotechnic articles on or toward the public highway are banned. Retail sale, carrying and transport of fuel and of combustible or corrosive products in any portable container are likewise prohibited, as is the carrying and transport of firearms, including replica weapons, and of any object that could serve as a weapon by destination.

Enforcement extends into public transport. Staff of Transdev Service Réunion are authorized to carry out security pat-downs and visual inspections of bags. The measures do not apply to professionals who can justify their activity. Any breach carries a fine of 135 euros, and establishments that fail to comply face administrative closure.

The prefecture’s decision follows two nights, 20 to 21 and 21 to 22 October 2026, during which further incidents of urban disorder were recorded in several parts of the island. The prefecture notes, however, a marked drop in both the number and the intensity of public order disturbances across the department, even though incidents persist. The acts logged were mainly bin fires and obstruction of traffic in certain neighborhoods, notably in the communes of Saint-Denis, Le Port, Saint-Louis and Saint-Paul.

Several more serious episodes marked those nights. On Wednesday evening at Le Chaudron, police fired a tear gas grenade at a group of about ten young people in response to mortar firework launches; one individual was arrested and placed in custody. At Le Port, a 15-year-old minor was arrested during the night of 21 to 22 October for starting a brush fire in the Rivière des Galets district. In Saint-Benoît, a group of around fifteen masked youths set fire to bins, a vehicle and an electricity pole on Wednesday, in an attempt to lure security forces into an ambush.

To reinforce the response, reinforcements from the mobile gendarmerie squadron of Périgueux will be fully deployed from Thursday, supporting local forces and thickening the intervention network at the most sensitive points of the territory, the prefecture says. Officials describe the current lull as an encouraging sign, but stress that vigilance remains total. The bans, the prefecture adds, are also meant to prevent overnight disturbances and any overflow across the department as the weekend approaches. Whether the measures hold through Monday morning remains the open question.