Paris and Marseille see clashes follow another day of mass protests across France, with almost 1,000 arrested

Police deployed across France

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in protests on Saturday. The demonstrations were driven by concerns about the cost of living and poor conditions in schools. Authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and imposed restrictions in several cities. They sought to prevent the protests from descending into the level of chaos seen the previous weekend, when businesses were looted and buildings set alight.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said late Saturday that nearly 1,000 people had been arrested, and that the total would rise. Officials said they had so far avoided rioting and looting on last weekend’s scale.

Clashes after Paris march

A march in Paris from Porte d’Italie towards Porte de Vincennes was peaceful before clashes broke out with riot police at its end. The police operation included an elite unit usually involved in organised crime and counter-terrorism cases.

Damage and wider protests

More than 2,000 shops and other businesses across France were said to have been directly affected by earlier violence, looting and destruction. The French Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimated the damage at hundreds of millions of euros.

Authorities later imposed overnight curfews in Paris and other cities. Protests over similar issues also affected other European cities on Saturday; in Milan, a major security operation involving police and hundreds of soldiers prevented protesters from gathering.