Almost 1,000 arrested as clashes follow another day of mass protests across France
Officials have so far managed to avoid a repeat of last weekend's rioting and looting as hundreds of thousands took part in demonstrations.
Key points
- Nearly 1,000 people were arrested after another day of mass protests across France on Saturday, officials said.
- The interior ministry estimated 410,000 protesters took part, while unions put the figure at about 800,000.
- Some 70,000 police officers were deployed and restrictions imposed in several cities to prevent the protests from descending into chaos.
Nearly 1,000 people were arrested as hundreds of thousands took part in another day of protests across France on Saturday, officials said. After largely peaceful demonstrations, police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in cities including Paris, while barricades were set alight in Marseille and people ripped boards from a shop in Bordeaux.
The interior ministry estimated 410,000 people protested, while unions put the number at about 800,000. Officials said they had so far avoided rioting and looting on the scale seen last weekend, which resulted in some of the worst disorder in France's modern history.
Police deployment and arrests
Some 70,000 police officers were deployed and restrictions imposed in several cities to prevent the protests over the cost of living and poor school conditions from turning into the chaos seen previously. President Emmanuel Macron had decreed earlier in the week that only demonstrations organised by recognised trade unions would be permitted.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said late in the day that nearly 1,000 people had been arrested, adding that "this number will increase". He also said two people had been seriously injured, one in Toulouse and another in Clermont-Ferrand.
several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 individuals identified as rioters
— French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez
Clashes in several cities
In Paris, clashes erupted at the end of a peaceful march from Porte d'Italie towards Porte de Vincennes. Some protesters erected makeshift barricades and threw projectiles at officers, while police baton-charged masked youths smashing the windows of a car dealership on the Cours de Vincennes.
In Marseille, young people set rubbish bins ablaze and blocked streets with metal sheets. In Bordeaux, protesters in dark clothing and face coverings took boards off a building to build a barricade, and in Lyon police used tear gas grenades to disperse a crowd gathered in an area banned by the local prefecture.
