Paris: Protesters and police are clashing in Paris, with tear gas fired and projectiles thrown, at the tail end of demonstrations in the capital and elsewhere that the French government says have drawn 410,000 demonstrators nationwide.
Paris saw the largest protest on Saturday, with the interior ministry estimating that 110,000 took part in a march on the city's southeastern edge that started peacefully but is ending with violence.
Police have fired volleys of tear gas and are also using water cannons to try to disperse people, including some who have thrown projectiles.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez confirmed the arrest toll at a press briefing and warned that the number could rise further as police operations continue across the country."As I speak to you, we are at nearly 1,000 arrests," Nunez said. "I believe this figure will increase significantly," he said.
According to France 24, the French government said around 410,000 protesters had marched across the country, while organisers estimated the turnout at nearly 800,000.The Interior Minister pointed out that by the same time on the previous Saturday, a day also marred by unrest and looting, police had recorded 385 arrests.
Authorities announced that the demonstration in Paris had been completely dispersed along the Cours de Vincennes following clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel at the rear of the march.
"A Gendarmerie helicopter has been deployed to support ground units and locate any remaining groups of rioters," the prefectural police said, adding that "more than 500 rioters" had been present towards the end of the demonstration.
Police used water cannons and tear gas grenades after projectiles were thrown at them.Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing party France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) and a presidential candidate, criticised the police response to the demonstrations in Paris.
In a post on X, Melenchon said, "In Paris, to ruin the day and unwind, the so-called forces of law and order gas and fire into the crowd at the back of the procession, all in a bid to get footage for the domestic news channels that spent the whole week airing the images that spurred the Trappes killer. Nonstop shame."
In another post, he accused television coverage and policing of being used to shape public perceptions of the protest movement."It continues with the policing of minds through the televisions of power. Tonight, staging of the « tails of the procession » to spew hatred against the popular movement. Without a single image of the masses in peaceful action," he said.
"Behind every police officer, a compliant camera. And even congratulations for a setup deliberately designed to provoke chaos. And which has yet again mutilated two people," Melenchon added.
Urging people to form their own opinions, he wrote, "Turn off the televisions! Form your own opinion without a guardian. Journey through social networks. Stay free to think for yourselves."
Hundreds of demonstrations took place across France as public anger mounted over the rising cost of living and a lack of educational funding, leading to clashes with security forces attempting to prevent a repeat of recent violence.
While initial gatherings were relatively peaceful, severe clashes broke out late Saturday evening in Paris. Riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons against crowds to restore order as security forces massed across the country to prevent a repeat of recent violence, Euronews reported.Violence and confrontations with police spread to several major regional hubs, including Lyon, Lille, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, and Toulouse.In Lyon, riot police filled the streets and fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of approximately 150 demonstrators who attempted to block a central road in an area under active protest bans, Euronews reported.
The rallies mark a continuation of protests triggered over a month ago by students protesting high school conditions, teacher shortages, school day schedules, and educational inequality between public and private systems, France24 reported.The student-led movement has since expanded into a wider national mobilisation incorporating trade unions, civil society groups, and the ‘Yellow Vests’ movement, following violent street clashes seen during cost-of-living demonstrations a week earlier.(With agency inputs from PTI & ANI)