"Messages sent over the past few days by Internet and text message have
called for gatherings and 'violent acts' in Paris on November 12," the capital's police force said in a statement announcing the ban.
"To enforce the ban, the police and gendarmes already deployed in the
capital will be considerably reinforced, and reminded of their instructions to
arrest trouble-makers," the statement said.
The intensity of France's most serious unrest in four decades has dropped since President Jacques Chirac's government adopted emergency measures including curfews on Tuesday to curb unrest by youngsters complaining of racism and unemployment.
But there was a rise in violence in suburbs of Paris overnight. Police said 463 vehicles were set on fire across France, a slight fall from the previous night, but the number of vehicles torched in the areas around Paris rose from 84 to 111.
"This confirms the downward trend overall, with some resistance in the Paris region," national police chief Michel Gaudin told reporters. "This weekend we will exercise extra vigilance in the Paris region."
Some 3,000 police officers have been mobilised in the capital, and forces were increased in other French cities, police said.
Bomb squads with police dogs were out in force and riot police looked on as President Chirac attended remembrance ceremonies at the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris to commemorate Armistice Day, which marks the end of World War I in 1918.
Protest
Some 200-300 residents of riot-torn suburbs staged a peace protest by the Eiffel Tower in central Paris this afternoon, calling for an end to violence but urging the government to listen to the angry youths. Fewer people showed up than expected.
Protesters held up banners declaring "Yes to peace" and "No to violence". "I am against the violence but I think the government must react to the poverty in the suburbs," said Adama Drame, a 24-year-old Frenchman of African origin.