Over 1,300 people have been arrested across France after nationwide protests over rising living costs and school conditions escalated into clashes with police in several major cities.
The demonstrations were largely peaceful before violence broke out later in the day, prompting authorities to deploy tear gas, water cannons and about 70,000 police officers nationwide.
The Interior Ministry estimated that about 410,000 people took part in Saturday’s protests, while trade unions put the turnout at approximately 800,000.
The ministry said 53 police officers were injured during confrontations.
In Paris, clashes erupted towards the end of a march from Porte d’Italie to Porte de Vincennes after masked protesters reportedly erected barricades and threw objects at officers.
Police later moved against groups accused of vandalism, including youths who reportedly smashed windows at a car dealership.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said several thousand radical activists had gathered towards the rear of the march, including about 500 people considered potential rioters.
Police recorded 142 arrests in Paris, fewer than half the number made in the capital during the previous weekend’s protests.
In Marseille, protesters reportedly set rubbish bins on fire and blocked roads with metal sheets. Footage also showed a law enforcement vehicle driving through a burning barricade.
Bordeaux saw similar disorder, with masked protesters reportedly removing wooden boards from a building and using them to construct a roadblock.
In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd gathered in an area where demonstrations had been banned by local authorities.
Nuñez said two people suffered serious injuries during the clashes, with further incidents reported in Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand.
French media reported that a 20-year-old protester in Toulouse suffered severe injuries to one hand after an explosive device detonated nearby.
Authorities in the Bouches-du-Rhône region, which includes Marseille, said seven businesses had been looted or damaged as disturbances continued into Sunday.
The latest violence follows protests the previous weekend that attracted about 550,000 people over rising fuel prices and the wider cost-of-living crisis.
More than 2,500 people were arrested during those protests, while over 2,000 shops and businesses were reportedly affected by looting, vandalism and other damage. France’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimated the resulting losses at hundreds of millions of euros.
The unrest has also intensified political tensions ahead of France’s presidential election, with President Emmanuel Macron expected to leave office next spring.
Opinion polls indicate a possible contest between the far-right National Rally and the radical-left France Unbowed, represented by Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Both camps have blamed Macron’s government for the unrest, although they differ over the protests and the response to the violence.
Mélenchon accused French media of giving insufficient coverage to peaceful demonstrations and criticised police tactics, arguing that they contributed to the escalation.
Elsewhere, about 13,000 people attended an anti-National Rally demonstration in Orléans, which remained peaceful.
Protests also took place elsewhere in Europe. More than 120 people were arrested in Barcelona after a student demonstration turned violent, while police used tear gas against anti-government protesters in Tirana, Albania.
Clashes were also reported in Brussels, while Milan deployed hundreds of soldiers alongside police following violent demonstrations the previous week.
The continuing unrest is increasing pressure on the French government as frustration grows over living costs, public services and the country’s political direction.
Goodness Anunobi
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