Police clashed with masked rioters in Paris and other cities after Paris protests in France drew about 320,000 people across the country on Saturday. The marches were largely peaceful for most of the day, but violence broke out as evening approached and officers moved to contain the disorder.
Paris and Marseille
Laurent Nuñez said about 150 planned demonstrations around the country had passed off peacefully, even as police faced what he called an "extraordinary" level of violence from some rioters as the rallies ended. Police arrested 565 people across France late Saturday, and one riot police officer was hit by a molotov cocktail in Paris.
Four police officers and one gendarme were injured in Paris, where about 70,000 people marched. Police in several cities fired teargas and stun grenades as the demonstrations ended, while masked people dressed in black used hammers to pry up paving stones and hurl them at police on and around the Porte de Charenton.
Toulouse and Nantes
Police in Toulouse used water cannon against an unauthorized protest that drew several thousand people. The marches brought together school students, trade unions and gilets jaune protesters, and the unrest spread beyond the capital to Marseille and other French cities.
Jérôme Rodrigues, speaking on the Paris march, said: "The French economy is doing badly no matter what happens, because today we’re being run by a group of incompetents who juggle billions while families are struggling with a few cents." In Nantes, Camille Guérin said: "We say no to the cost of living, no to the far right, yes to high school students’ demands, yes to giving citizens a voice."
France in two weeks
The Saturday rallies came two weeks after widespread street violence and looting rocked numerous French cities during a first wave of mass protest on 17 October. Laurent Nuñez also warned earlier on Saturday: "We are fully prepared for those looking for confrontation tonight."
The scale of the arrests and injuries leaves police in France with a clear public order question after a day that began with peaceful marches and ended with clashes in Paris, Marseille, Toulouse and other cities.
