Cars have been set on fire and shops were looted in Paris as police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent protesters who joined nationwide demonstrations against rising living costs and in support of high school students’ grievances.
Interior minister Laurent Nunez’s office described “a growing number of violent incidents”, including assaults on police officers, looting or attempted looting of shops and damage to public buildings.
Police made at least 272 arrests across the country, including in Paris.
In the French capital, police used tear gas and water cannons to push back people wearing hoods and masks and throwing fireworks and other objects at officers in the Place de la Republique, north east of Paris city centre.
Large numbers of riot police were deployed in the square and surrounding streets.
The majority of peaceful protesters joined a march that moved towards north-western Paris.
The crowd chanted France’s national anthem as French flags were waved.
The chants were accompanied by people playing trumpets and violins.
Meanwhile, police were working to prevent other small groups of protesters from converging on government buildings, Mr Nunez’s office said.
Many metro stations were closed on Saturday at police request, including those around the Champs-Elysees and near the presidential palace, parliament and government offices.
In Lyon, France’s third-largest city, where about 20,000 protesters joined the march, fire broke out inside a tourist office.
Smoke and flames were seen rising from the building.
In the southern port city of Marseille, some shops and a municipal police station were damaged, while some protesters briefly forced their way into the lobby of City Hall.
“This is unacceptable,” Marseille mayor Benoit Payan told BFM TV, describing the damage in City Hall as “limited”.
Mr Nunez’s office also reported violence by masked groups in Rennes, Toulouse, Montpellier and Grenoble, among other cities.
Protesters across France responded to calls on social media to revive the “yellow vest” movement, which emerged in 2018 against social injustice.
Demonstrators expressed widespread frustration and anger at the government as petrol, energy and food prices have spiked in recent months.
Student groups protesting since mid-September through school blockades have urged supporters to join them.
The CGT, one of France’s major labour unions, also backed the protests, calling for “higher wages and pensions, lower prices and the protection of public services that meet people’s needs”.
In recent weeks, France has seen thousands of arrests, hundreds of injuries and schools set on fire as the new school year descended into nationwide student protests that are influencing the country’s presidential election campaign and drawing international attention.
Among protesters, particularly gruesome wounds suffered by some teenagers have been blamed on police riot control weapons.
Mr Nunez suspended the use of a type of police stun grenade against the young demonstrators after a 15-year-old lost a hand.
On Tuesday, climate and social justice activist Greta Thunberg joined students at a high school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
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