Hundreds of Thousands Protest Again Across France: Over 100,000 March in Paris, Nearly 1,000 Arrested Nationwide

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in protests across France again on Saturday. Heavy security meant the large-scale violence of the previous week was avoided this time, but clashes broke out between protesters and police in several cities. Nearly 1,000 protesters were arrested, the country's interior minister said.

According to police figures, about 110,000 people marched peacefully in the capital, Paris. Carrying flags, they protested against the rising cost of living and inequality, chanting slogans against 'the state, the police and the fascists'.

After the march, police clashed with a few small groups of masked people, using tear gas and water cannon to disperse them. Violence was far lower than the previous Saturday, when looting and vandalism in Paris had taken on a large scale.

Clashes were also reported in Lyon, Bordeaux and Grenoble. In Clermont-Ferrand, Lille and Nice, police fired tear gas at protesters several times.

In Marseille, the country's second-largest city, some young people dragged large metal sheets to block roads, set fire to rubbish bins and threw stones and bottles at riot police. Clashes there continued after nightfall.

France's interior ministry said 410,000 people took part in protests nationwide. Labour unions, however, claim the real number was almost double that.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told journalists that police were having to act quickly and firmly to deal with the situation. He accused far-left activists and criminal groups of inciting violence.

The minister said nearly 1,000 protesters had been arrested across the country, many of them detained after advance searches. He claimed those searches had found fireworks, metal balls and various items that could be used as weapons.

According to a Reuters report, a large part of Paris effectively resembled a city under siege. Shopkeepers boarded up their storefronts, museums kept their doors shut, and more than 20 metro stations were closed.

The previous week, thousands of shops and businesses across France had been attacked and looted. After that, business organisations this time called for shops to stay closed. Oscar, the manager of a Kiton boutique in Paris, said there were virtually no customers, so there was no point keeping the shop open.

Several of the capital's famous cultural venues — the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Paris Opera — also stayed closed on Saturday as a precaution, disappointing tourists. Xavier Doliol, a visitor from New Orleans, said shops were closed everywhere and they did not know where to go.

The movement began last month with small protests by students in the Paris suburbs. What started over a teacher shortage and dilapidated school infrastructure later grew into a broader protest against France's economic hardship and the government. Its effects spread to neighbouring countries too — on Saturday, anti-government protesters clashed with police in Brussels, Belgium, where police used tear gas and pepper spray, and protests were held for a second straight week in several Italian cities.

France's leftwing leaders criticised the government's decision to limit the number of authorised marches in various cities. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the hard-left leader who joined the Paris protest, praised the demonstrators' 'extraordinary display of collective discipline and self-restraint', saying the protests would continue until President Emmanuel Macron acts to resolve France's social crisis, and could return every week — but that Macron still has a chance to get the situation under control.