Almost 1,000 arrested as clashes follow another day of mass protests across France

Nearly 1,000 arrests were made as hundreds of thousands of people took part in nationwide protests across France, followed by some clashes in the late hours of Saturday, officials reported. After predominantly peaceful demonstrations, police deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters in various cities, including Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Lyon.

Barricades were set ablaze in Marseille, and shop boards were ripped from a store in Bordeaux. However, officials have thus far prevented rioting and looting on the extensive scale seen during last weekend's protests, which led to some of the worst scenes of disorder in modern French history. The interior ministry estimated that 410,000 people protested on Saturday, while unions reported around 800,000 participants.

Approximately 70,000 police officers were deployed, and restrictions were imposed in several cities to prevent the latest demonstrations from turning into chaos. President Emmanuel Macron had previously allowed only demonstrations organized by recognized trade unions. Some 13,000 people joined a rally against the hard-right National Rally party in Orléans, which proceeded peacefully.

Mass protests sparked by similar concerns, such as the cost of living and poor school conditions, also occurred in other European cities, including Tirana (Albania), Brussels (Belgium), and Milan (Italy).