Paris: Violent clashes, fires and looting marred demonstrations across France on Saturday as hundreds of thousands of people marched against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. About 400 people were arrested nationwide, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
Nunez said 110 marches drew about 550,000 people across the country. Organizers, including the CGT labor union and students' organizations, said about 800,000 demonstrators took to the streets.
Nunez described troublemakers as "extremely violent, radical far-left groups" whom, he said, sought confrontations with police and targeted public buildings, including city halls and local government offices. He said those groups have been joined by offenders willing to loot shops. Most of those arrested are adults, he said.
Some incidents were still ongoing in central Paris on Saturday evening.
"There is no place for violence in our Republic," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a message on X. "Those who vandalized property, attacked government offices and businesses, and even looted our town halls will be prosecuted and punished."
"We will stand united against those who sow chaos ... and who prevent people from peacefully expressing their demands," Macron added.
Fires and looting hit Paris and other cities
In Paris, police fired tear gas and water cannons to push back people wearing hoods and masks and throwing fireworks, paving stones and other objects at officers in the Place de la Republique, northeast of the Paris city center.
Associated Press reporters saw thick black smoke rising from cars, bicycles and other vehicles, and trash bins on fire. A newspaper kiosk also burned, while several shops were looted. Several people have been injured in the clashes.
Many metro stations were closed Saturday at police request, including those around the Champs-Elysees and near the presidential palace, parliament and government offices.
Meanwhile, the majority of peaceful protesters joined a march that moved toward northwestern Paris. The crowd chanted France's national anthem and waved flags, and some people played trumpets and violins.
In Lyon, France's third-largest city where about 20,000 protesters joined the march, a fire broke out inside a tourist office.
In the southern port city of Marseille, some shops and a municipal police station were damaged, while protesters briefly forced their way into the lobby of City Hall.
Nunez also reported violence by masked groups against local government buildings in Bordeaux, break-in attempts at Lille and Calais city halls and at a police station in Brest. Violence also broke out in Rennes, Toulouse, Montpellier and Grenoble, among other cities.
In Limoges, a middle-sized town in central France, the City Hall was set on fire. Flames were still raging Saturday evening.
Living costs and school conditions fuel anger
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 gasoline, energy and food prices have spiked in recent months.
Sonia Mabrouk, 40, said she came from a suburb west of Paris with her daughter, a high school student, to protest "everything that's going wrong," particularly the neglect of public services. Mabrouk, who took part in the yellow vest protests, criticized "policies that favor the rich and always hit the poorest people in their wallets."
Many protesters could be seen wearing the fluorescent yellow vests that became a symbol of the 2018 rallies. "There's a general sense of frustration and anger," Mabrouk said, as she marched alongside peaceful demonstrators of all ages.
Student groups protesting since mid-September through school blockades have urged supporters to join them.
The CGT, one of France's major labor unions, also backed the protests, calling for "higher wages and pensions, lower prices and the protection of public services that meet people's needs."
Far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who backed the high school students movement, also took part in the Paris protest Saturday.
Protester's injury renews scrutiny of policing
Authorities opened an investigation after a young protester was badly injured Saturday and lost a hand in Saint-Etienne, Nunez said. He declined to confirm French media reports the injury was caused by a police grenade explosion.
The incident comes as the police have drawn sharp scrutiny over their use of grenades and other riot-control weapons during recent demonstrations.
In the past 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. Nunez suspended the use of a type of police stun grenade against high school demonstrators after a 15-year-old lost a hand. But the suspension does not apply to other protests including those staged Saturday.