More than 1,300 arrested as clashes follow another day of mass protests across France

Updated 4 hours ago.

Key points

• While the unions put the number at regarding 800, 000, the interior ministry remarked an estimated 410, 000 residents protested on Saturday.
• Some 13, 000 individuals joined a rally against the hard-right National Rally (RN) party in the north-central city of Orléans.
• Around 550, 000 individuals took part in last weekend's demonstrations against rising fuel costs and the cost of living, with frustrations escalating after weeks of student protests.
• Nuñez additionally stated two individuals had been "seriously injured": one in the south-western city of Toulouse and another one in Clermont-Ferrand, central France.
• While clashes were additionally noted in Belgium's capital Brussels, in Albania's capital Tirana, riot police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators.

More than 1, 300 arrests were created as hundreds of thousands of residents took part in another day of protests throughout France on Saturday that were followed by some clashes afterwards in the day, authorities have noted.

While barricades were set alight in Marseille and residents ripped boards from a shop in Bordeaux, after largely peaceful demonstrations, police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in a number of cities including Paris.

Authorities have so far managed to avoid rioting and looting on the scale seen last weekend. It resulted in some of the worst scenes of disorder in France's modern history.

Katya Adler: France divided over who to blame for riots and what to learn from them.

Some 70, 000 police officers were deployed and restrictions imposed in a number of cities to prevent the latest protests over the cost of living and poor school conditions from descending into the kind of chaos which saw officers outnumbered, hundreds of businesses looted and buildings torched.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry remarked 53 officers were hurt in clashes nationwide on Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron had decreed earlier this week that only demonstrations organised by a recognised trade unions would be permitted. Hundreds of individuals have been jailed for vandalism, arson and looting after fast-track court hearings.

Clashes between protesters and riot police in Paris erupted at the end of a peaceful march from the city's Porte d'Italie towards Porte de Vincennes, where the police operation included an elite unit that usually deals with organised crime and counter-terrorism.

While police baton-charged groups of masked youths who were smashing the windows of a car dealership, some protesters were seen erecting makeshift barricades and pelting officers with projectiles.

According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, "several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 individuals identified as rioters", news agency AFP noted.

For context, the Interior Ministry remarked 142 residents were arrested in the French capital on Saturday, less than half of the number arrested on the same day last week.

In the southern port of Marseille, rubbish bins were set ablaze and metal sheets applied to block streets. A law enforcement vehicle was seen driving through a burning barricade in France's second-largest city.

Meanwhile, some protesters in dark clothing and face coverings were seen taking boards off a building to build a street barricade in the southern city of Bordeaux.

In Lyon, police applied tear gas grenades to disperse a crowd which had reportedly gathered in an area deemed off-limits by the local prefecture.

"There were around 150 of us, mostly secondary school and university students. Then the tear gas came almost immediately. You could barely see anything in the street, " remarked one protester in France's third-largest city.

Nuñez additionally stated two individuals had been "seriously injured": one in the south-western city of Toulouse and another one in Clermont-Ferrand, central France. He remarked the number of arrests nationwide would probable rise.

In practice, the man in Toulouse, a 20-year-old protester, had a number of fingers torn off one hand when a nearby explosive went off, Franceinfo noted, citing the medic who treated him.

As the unrest continued into the early hours of Sunday morning, authorities in Bouches-du-Rhône, the region in which Marseilles sits, remarked seven businesses had been "looted or damaged".

Earlier, a peaceful protester in Paris who offered her name as Zelie informed the BBC individuals had taken to the streets as they were "really frustrated" and had been "suffering a lot" since Macron came to office.

"They keep us quiet. They take our funds, they tax us a lot and we can't say anything. Today we are in the streets since it's been too long, it's been too much, " the 26-year-old stated.

Two masked teenage protesters. This person did not want to offer their names, additionally noted their generation was in despair and felt abandoned by the administration.

"I think looting is really not good, " one of the demonstrators remarked of last Saturday's disorder. "But it's because of poverty and the violence of the police."

He continued that the protests would end "when we have a response to our demands. We really want a change in France".

Meanwhile, some 13, 000 individuals joined a rally against the hard-right National Rally (RN) party in the north-central city of Orléans. It proceeded peacefully.

For context, the recent unrest has played out against a backdrop of a polarised political landscape, with France preparing for what could be the most divisive election period in a generation.

Macron will leave office next spring and polls suggest French voters will ultimately face a choice between RN's candidate Marine Le Pen and that of the radical-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed).

Though right-wing figures have additionally heaped criticism on rioters while left-wing leaders backing the union-led protests, leading figures from both parties have levelled the blame for the disorder at Macron.

LFI candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon remarked French media had not covered the peaceful protests while police had created "a setup deliberately designed to provoke chaos" that had "mutilated two people".

Mass protests triggered by similar problems as in France additionally rocked a number of other European cities on Saturday.

In Barcelona, more than 120 individuals were arrested after a student protest descended into what local authorities described as "gratuitous violence".

In Milan, northern Italy, a major security operation including hundreds of soldiers alongside police prevented protesters gathering in the city. Plenty of had feared a repeat of violent scenes last week when some kicked off fires, smashed windows and looted shops.

Around 550, 000 individuals took part in last weekend's demonstrations against rising fuel costs and the cost of living, with frustrations escalating after weeks of student protests. The chaos which followed resulted in more than 2, 500 arrests.

Marches were initially largely peaceful but became marred by scenes of violence, looting and destruction, with more than 2, 000 shops and other businesses throughout France stated to have been directly impacted. The damage was estimated "at hundreds of millions euros", France's Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) remarked.

While regarding 1, 000 police officers were injured, one demonstrator's hand was blown off by a police crowd-control grenade, according to AFP.

Notably, the French authorities afterwards stated they were forced to impose overnight curfews in Paris and other cities.

For context, the continuing protests come ahead of France's presidential elections in six months' time, and leading contenders have levelled the blame at Macron and his ministers.

In short, more than 1, 300 arrested as clashes follow another day of mass protests is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.