Nearly 1,000 arrested as hundreds of thousands march again across France
French police arrested nearly 1,000 people on Saturday during a second weekend of nationwide protests over the cost of living and school conditions, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, AFP and the BBC reported. Marches were largely peaceful, but clashes broke out in Paris and other cities as crowds dispersed. Officials said looting was on a far smaller scale than the weekend before.
The turnout: The Interior Ministry estimated that 410,000 people demonstrated nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris, AFP reported. The CGT union, one of the organizers, put the total at about 800,000, with 250,000 in Paris. About 70,000 police officers were deployed, the BBC reported.
The clashes: In Paris, clashes began at the end of a march toward Porte de Vincennes, and police used tear gas, batons and a water cannon, AFP reported. Nuñez said several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 people identified as rioters, according to AFP. Clashes were also reported in Lyon, Lille, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes and Toulouse, AFP said, and barricades were set alight in Marseille, the BBC reported.
Injuries and arrests: Nuñez said two people were seriously injured, one in Toulouse and one in Clermont-Ferrand, AFP reported. The man in Toulouse, a 20-year-old protester, lost several fingers when a nearby explosive went off, Franceinfo reported, according to the BBC. The ministry said 142 people were arrested in Paris, and Nuñez said the national arrest count was likely to rise, the BBC reported. A week earlier, about 2,700 people were arrested after protests turned into widespread rioting and looting, AFP reported.
What to watch: Nuñez said authorities would stay on high alert through Saturday night and into Sunday, AFP reported. All figures come from French officials and unions and may change.