France sees nationwide protest clashes as police arrest nearly 1,000 people

Clashes erupted across France on Sunday as protesters took to the streets in demonstrations over the cost of living. Police arrested nearly 1,000 people as unrest spread through several major cities, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes. The protests came a week after earlier marches that turned violent and prompted a stronger security response from the government.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said officers faced what he described as an extremely elevated level of violence from black-clad ultra-left extremists. Riot police used tear gas in the capital and in other cities as authorities tried to contain disorder and keep demonstrations away from city centres. The government had deployed 70,000 security personnel nationwide for the marches, while partial curfews were imposed in some urban areas in Paris and elsewhere.

Mr Nunez said two people were seriously injured during the unrest. One was a man in Toulouse who reportedly had fingers blown off, while the other was injured in Clermont-Ferrand. He also said the outcome of this round of protests was more positive than the previous week because police were more numerous, moved more quickly and carried out more checks before the demonstrations began.

The authorities also said they had better protected businesses during the day. The unrest matters because it comes amid growing anger over living costs and over the government's handling of public order. The demonstrations drew between 410,000 and 800,000 people across the country, according to estimates cited by the authorities and the CGT union.

In Paris, the main march was estimated at between 110,000 and 250,000 participants, and the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay closed for the day as shops boarded up windows in anticipation of looting. The latest protests follow a week of rioting that saw public buildings vandalised, hundreds of shops looted and 2,700 people arrested. That earlier violence has added pressure on President Emmanuel Macron's government, which has ordered police to stop protesters reaching city centres and has described some non-union demonstrations as illegitimate.

The unrest is unfolding six months before an election to choose Macron's successor, giving the disorder added political significance. In Paris, the main demonstration was moved to the south-east edge of the city at short notice, and it passed largely peacefully before clashes broke out as the crowd dispersed. Mr Nunez blamed 500 rioters at the back of the march for the violence that followed.

What remains unclear is whether the latest security measures will reduce the risk of further unrest or deepen tensions with protesters. The next developments to watch are any further arrests, any official review of the injuries reported, and whether the protest movement regroups after the weekend's clashes.

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