France is reeling from widespread damage caused by violent protests that saw 1,800 people arrested, a historic town hall torched and widespread looting.
"It's like we had a war," a 78-year-old resident in central Paris, Mehmet Ozeden, said amid burnt street barricades from the protests.
The convulsion raised the stakes for President Emmanuel Macron, who is in his final months in power before elections to replace him in six months' time.
It followed weeks of student protests that had also turned violent at times.
Protests staged by the "Yellow Vests" movement against the cost of living and rising fuel prices were joined by French high school and university students, teachers and parents demanding better school conditions and government action. (Reuters: Stephane Mahe)
President Macron was to address the nation Sunday evening at 1800 GMT, his office said, after meeting key ministers.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 1,800 people were arrested over the protests and looting, with investigations under way "to identify the perpetrators of these acts so they can be brought to justice".
Torched cars, smashed shopfronts and burnt debris scarred numerous streets in Paris, where officials said 557 people were in custody after a "record" number of arrests.
The capital experienced "a level of violence that we have never, I believe, seen before", said Paris deputy mayor Lamia El Aaraje.
It's estimated 1500 businesses across the country were damaged as a result of the protests. (Reuters: Abdul Saboor)
Hundreds of shops were looted in Paris and other cities, including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Strasbourg, during the protests over the cost of living.
One person died during the main march in Paris, but officials said it was health-related and not linked to the protest violence.
Around 1,500 businesses were damaged, causing losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of euros, according to the Retail and Trade Federation.
One Paris resident, Anita Gras, out for a jog between the debris, said she saw young men loot a sports shoe retailer.
"They stayed until 1:00 am, we were afraid they were going to throw things at us," she said.
"It's appalling, terrifying — groups of young people came here yesterday (Saturday), looting, smashing everything, with total impunity," said another resident, 57-year-old Cecile Rogue, surveying a pile of charred bicycles.
'Wild horde'
The city of Limoges lost its 19th-century town hall to a fire. The local prefect, Maurice Barate, told news channel LCI it had been deliberately set by "a wild horde" and was only brought under control early Sunday.
The mayor of Lyon, Gregory Doucet, said "the chaos that reigned in the city for several hours was abominable".
A tourist office in the centre of Lyon was set ablaze during the protests, which saw multiple clashes and looting.
It's believed more than half a million joined the protests. (Reuters: Jack Taylor)
Political recriminations have followed, with the government and far-right leader Marine Le Pen blaming ultra-left groups, while far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon accused authorities of inflaming tensions.
Paris's Socialist deputy mayor El Aaraje accused Ms Le Pen's party of "acting like a pyromaniac firefighter", using the protests to further her presidential ambitions.
Half a million demonstrators
In Paris, startled tourists were seen Saturday running with suitcases along streets filled with tear gas and protesters.
A Danish tourist, Soren Petersen, said it was "sad" to see damage to Paris buildings.
"It is not a protest, it's far beyond a normal protest,"
he said.
An American tourist, Jill Burns, said "we were scared".
Around 500 police, firefighters and paramedics were hurt in the protests, the interior minister said.
The violence took place on the sidelines of nationwide protests that the interior ministry said were attended by 550,000 people.
The CGT union said 800,000 people participated.
A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade in the southern city of Saint-Etienne.
Analyst Mujtaba Rahman of the Eurasia Group think tank said on X that most of the demonstrations were peaceful, and "the violence came from a fringe of the ultra left" with looting "by opportunistic gangs from the poor suburbs".
"All good news for Marine Le Pen,"
he said.
France's Yellow Vest movement, which staged street protests eight years ago against President Macron's government over planned fuel-tax hikes, had called Saturday's "yellow and youth" demonstrations.
The principal grievance was the cost of living, pushed up in part by the war in the Middle East, which has helped send inflation soaring in Europe as elsewhere.
AFP