Clashes followed largely peaceful demonstrations in several French cities on Saturday.
Officials reported two serious injuries as police confronted protesters after largely peaceful marches over living costs and poor school conditions.
France protests drew hundreds of thousands onto the streets on Saturday, with officials reporting nearly 1,000 arrests. Clashes followed largely peaceful demonstrations over living costs and poor school conditions.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the arrest total late in the day and said it would rise. He also reported two serious injuries, one in Toulouse and another in Clermont-Ferrand.
Meanwhile, the interior ministry estimated turnout at 410,000, while unions put participation at about 800,000. Authorities deployed some 70,000 police officers and imposed restrictions in several cities.
France protests bring clashes after peaceful marches
In Paris, violence erupted after a peaceful march from Porte d’Italie towards Porte de Vincennes. Some protesters built makeshift barricades and threw projectiles at officers.
Police also baton-charged masked youths who were breaking windows at a car dealership. The security operation included an elite unit normally tasked with organised crime and counter-terrorism.
Nuñez said several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march. Among them, he said, were around 500 people identified as rioters.
Meanwhile, burning rubbish bins and metal sheets blocked streets in Marseille. A law enforcement vehicle drove through a burning barricade.
In Bordeaux, some masked protesters removed boards from a building to construct a street barricade. Police in Lyon also used tear gas against a crowd reportedly gathered in an area authorities had declared off-limits.
However, the disorder did not reach the scale of the previous weekend’s rioting and looting. Separately, around 13,000 people peacefully rallied against the hard-right National Rally party in Orléans.
Tighter controls follow earlier unrest
Earlier in the week, President Emmanuel Macron decreed that only recognised trade unions could organise permitted demonstrations. Fast-track court hearings have since resulted in jail terms for hundreds over vandalism, arson and looting.
The previous weekend drew around 550,000 demonstrators protesting rising fuel prices and living costs. Those marches followed weeks of student protests, but later violence led to more than 2,500 arrests.
France’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry said the unrest directly affected more than 2,000 shops and other businesses. It estimated damage at hundreds of millions of euros.
Authorities subsequently imposed overnight curfews in Paris and other cities. About 1,000 police officers suffered injuries during that earlier unrest.
Meanwhile, protesters continued to voice frustration with the government. Zelie, a 26-year-old peaceful demonstrator in Paris, described anger over taxes and hardship during Macron’s presidency.
The continuing demonstrations come six months before France’s presidential elections. Leading contenders have blamed Macron and his ministers for the crisis.
