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Clashes erupt in parts of France after day of largely peaceful protests published at 22:20 BST Jacob Phillips Live reporter Image source, Reuters Image caption, Protesters take cover behind a plywood board as French riot police use a water canon in Paris French police have fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse protesters as clashes broke out following a day of mostly peaceful demonstrations across France. Almost 1,000 people have been arrested, according to officials, as an estimated 410,000 people rallied across the country. The unions put the number at about 800,000.
In Paris, our reporter’s eyes were filled with tear gas as a protest turned ugly in the French capital, with objects thrown towards police. In Marseille, barricades and rubbish bins were set alight, while protesters ripped boards from a shop to build a street barricade in Bordeaux. Meanwhile in southeastern city of Grenoble, hundreds of masked individuals carried out acts of vandalism and attacked police “with mortars and projectiles”, according to officials.
Officials have so far managed to avoid a repeat of last weekend's rioting and looting, which resulted in some of the worst scenes of disorder in France's modern history. More than 2,700 people were arrested following the mass disorder on 17 October. We are ending our live coverage now, but you can read more about the French protests here .
Fireworks and tear gas as protesters and riot police clash in Paris published at 22:07 BST Police have clashed with protesters in Paris as some demonstrations in France turned violent on Saturday. A largely peaceful day of protests turned into unrest after nightfall, as demonstrators were seen throwing objects and fireworks at police. Europe correspondent Nick Beake reports from Paris, where he says there are few signs the unrest will ease soon.
Over 50 people arrested in Marseille following protests - prefecture published at 21:56 BST Image source, Reuters Image caption, Protesters face police during the demonstrations in Marseille The mayor of Marseille says several groups attempted to loot different parts of the city on Saturday. Benoît Payan asks people in Marseille to "remain cautious" and to work with police and the emergency services. French media reports 51 people were arrested in the city including 20 adults, citing the region's prefecture.
We can barely afford to make it to the end of the month, say protesters in Milan published at 21:46 BST Sarah Rainsford Southern Europe correspondent, in Milan Image source, Reuters A major security operation including the deployment of 100s of soldiers alongside police prevented protesters gathering for most of the day in Milan . It was part of the government’s zero tolerance response after violent scenes in the city last week when some demonstrators set fires, smashed windows and looted shops. There were protests today elsewhere in Italy , including skirmishes with police in Bologna , where water cannons were used, and Turin where protesters also burned a picture of the prime minister.
But early this afternoon a man described as the 'brains' behind the 17 October Movement (M1710) which had called today's protests was identified and taken in for questioning by police. The mysterious movement had promised to post details on social media of where to gather in each city - in order to avoid the police - but its social media accounts were never updated. Image source, Reuters Here in Milan , that left would-be protesters lost for what to do, or where to go, and easily outnumbered and outmanoeuvred by police and paratroopers.
We saw groups - mostly teenagers - being stopped and searched on a massive scale, with police checking their bags and documents. Later in the evening, a crowd of demonstrators marched peacefully through the city, ending outside the Polytechnic University. “The cost of living," a group of young women there told the BBC, when asked why they were protesting - mentioning high rents and the cost of fuel.
“We can barely make it to the end of the month.” Police use water cannon to disperse protesters in Rome published at 21:32 BST As we've been reporting , away from France, protests have also been taking place across other parts of Europe today. Italian media report that police arrested nine people and detained 371 people, including 110 minors, following demonstrations in Italy. The footage below shows police firing a water cannon at protesters in central Rome.
French police clash with protesters in Paris and Marseille - in pictures published at 21:04 BST Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested during demonstrations across France today, with that number expected to rise, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. The photos below show the scenes that took place in Paris and Marseille this evening. Image source, Reuters Image caption, Gendarmes stand in position during clashes in Paris Image source, Reuters Image caption, Masked protesters face off with French police in Paris Image source, Reuters Image caption, Police stand guard during protests in Marseille Image source, Reuters Image caption, Riot police officers were covered in what appears to be paint during demonstrations in Paris Armoured vehicles used to push back protesters after thousands gather in Rennes published at 20:47 BST Image source, AFP via Getty Images Around 11,500 people gathered in Rennes, France, on Saturday despite the demonstration being banned, the prefecture covering the area says.
In a statement it says "several thousand people" were hostile towards police officers as they marched towards the city centre, despite organisers saying they would disperse the crowd. It says security forces confronted "particularly violent individuals", including some who fired projectiles. A water cannon and two armoured vehicles were deployed to push back protesters and dismantle barricades created in several streets, the statement says.
The prefecture adds that 52 arrests had been made. Tense end to protests in Toulon after flares fired from boats - prefect published at 20:16 BST There has been a "tense end to the demonstration" in Toulon in southern France following several clashes between protesters and police officers, the local prefect has said. The prefect says smoke bombs and projectiles were thrown while flares were fired from boats.
Around 150 people then gathered in the city and set fire to garbage bins before dispersing, the prefecture adds. An order banning people from gathering was issued. In the last few hours 55 people have been arrested including 33 minors.
Around 11 people are in police custody. Two officers and two protesters were injured during the clashes. Despite ban on protests, more than 2,000 gathered in Nice published at 20:01 BST Image source, Getty Images Image caption, A woman tries to protect herself from tear gas next to police officers during a protest in Nice In Nice, where demonstrations had been banned today, more than 2,000 people gathered to protest, police say.
Préfet des Alpes-Maritimes says during the dispersal of the protest far-right and far-left protesters clashed. They add 63 people were arrested, two police officers were injured and three protesters sustained minor injuries. French police condemn public damage in Bordeaux published at 19:47 BST Image source, Préfète de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine et de la Gironde A French prefect "condemns with the utmost firmness" damage in downtown Bordeaux.
Pictures show a statue in the city has graffiti at its base while a coffee shop has had its windows smashed and more graffiti sprayed across its front. "These acts are unacceptable," says prefect Sophie Brocas, who represents the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Gironde regions. "The perpetrators will have to answer for their actions before the courts." Tear gas filled my eyes and a policeman struck me as protest turned ugly published at 19:34 BST Mark Lowen Reporting from Paris Image source, Reuters We were on the main drag at the end of the protest march as things continued to turn ugly.
As protesters rushed past us, riot police fired volleys of tear gas, which filled our eyes and faces. As we pulled up our hoods, another volley of gas came from the other side. I couldn’t see - a policeman approached, hit me on the back of the leg with a baton and shouted to clear off.
We were guided down a side street and tried to take refuge inside an apartment complex, where some protesters had entered. One shut the main door. The police then appeared at the door and shouted to enter.
As they came in, they claimed we were protecting the demonstrators. We managed to get out. We’re fine.
But it gives you a real sense of the violent standoffs that mark the end of these bouts of unrest - and the depth of hatred there is from protesters over what many here see as heavy-handed policing. Nearly 1,000 arrested during protests across France - minister published at 19:09 BST Breaking Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez tells French media that nearly 1,000 people have been arrested during demonstrations across France. French broadcaster BFM TV cites Nuñez as saying that "this number will increase".
Tensions rise in protests across other parts of Europe published at 18:55 BST Image source, Reuters Image caption, Protesters stand in front of smoke on Skanderbeg Square during an anti-government protest in the Albanian capital Tirana, Outside of France, protests have also been taking place in Belgium, Albania and Italy. In Brussels , police used teargas and pepper spray during clashes with anti-government demonstrators calling for better conditions in the education system. In the Albanian capital Tirana , thousands attended an anti-government rally with police firing teargas to disperse them.
In Milan, Italy , there was a crackdown by police and soldiers ahead of planned protests against rising living costs. The government approved tighter security meaning things were calmer than last weekend, which saw riots and looting. Image source, EPA/Shutterstock Image caption, Members of an antifascist group take part in a demonstration in Brussels in Belgium More than 400,000 protested across France today - Interior Ministry published at 18:46 BST An estimated 410,000 people marched across France on Saturday, according to Interior Ministry figures obtained by French media.
But the CGT - one of the trade unions who organised the protests - estimates total attendance was 800,000, almost double the government's count. In Paris, the CGT union estimated 250,000 demonstrators, while the Interior Ministry and Paris police recorded about 110,000. Crowd size can be difficult to estimate and there's often a discrepancy in how attendance at protests is reported.
Image source, Reuters Violent clashes erupt after day of mostly peaceful protests in France published at 18:27 BST Image source, Getty Images Image caption, In Porte de Vincennes, Paris, protesters can be seen throw objects towards the police As skies darken in France, some protesters across the country are clashing with police. In Paris, where approximately 110,000 people marched as part of a nationwide protest, much of the day was calm. We're now seeing images of demonstrators in Porte de Vincennes, Paris, throwing objects towards law enforcement and makeshift barricades being erected.
This follows earlier disruption in other French cities. In Bordeaux , people were seen ripping boards from a shop and forming barricades. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Makeshift barriers have been erected in Paris Image source, Getty Images Image caption, In Marseille, a law enforcement vehicle has driven through a burning barricade Forty-one apprehended over violence at 'undeclared gathering' in Nantes - police published at 18:11 BST Image source, Getty Images Image caption, French Police officers in riot gear as flames rise on the Cours Saint-Andre in Nantes In Nantes, police say 41 people have been apprehended in connection with violence during "undeclared gatherings".
In a statement on X, the Préfet des Pays de la Loire et de Loire-Atlantique says officers remain "fully mobilised" to combat violence and looting in the city in northwestern France. Clashes on streets of Paris, after mostly peaceful demonstrations published at 17:44 BST Hugh Schofield Paris Correspondent Once again it’s at the end of the demonstrations that law and order begins to break down. Here in Paris riot police have been baton-charging groups of masked youths who’ve been smashing the windows of a car dealership on the Cours de Vincennes.
Thick clouds of tear gas fill the air, and there’s been a fair amount of water-cannoning as well. Earlier it had been a totally peaceful demonstration taking more than 100,000 marchers on a route well away from the city centre. There are big police reinforcements compared to last week, and - as the Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez explained - systematic bag checks on protesters yielded results.
In other flashpoint cities from last week - like Marseille and Lyon - it’s been a similar picture: some clashes on the edge of demonstrations but on nothing like the same scale as last week. And in Orléans - where the hard-right National Rally is holding its annual Congress - a march by 10,000 left-wing opponents passed off peacefully. Hundreds commit vandalism and attack police 'with mortars and projectiles,' Grenoble officials say published at 17:33 BST Breaking Nearly 400 "masked individuals" committed acts of vandalism and attacked police "with mortars and projectiles" on the sidelines of protests in Grenoble, the local prefecture says.
The statement says the masked protesters were from the "black bloc" group and police intervened to restore order in the city, in the south-east of France. The demonstration had been organised by the CGT union and yellow vest movement, the prefecture adds in a post on X. Paris police using elite unit as reinforcement published at 17:24 BST Police in Paris say they have mobilised an elite unit called BRI-PP to intervene in the capital and surrounding areas.
The unit usually focuses on organised crime and counter-terrorism operations. It's not the only elite policing squad to have been deployed at the protests; earlier, we reported that Brav M officers were patrolling the streets of Paris on motorbikes. About 70,000 police officers have been mobilised nationwide today.
Image source, Préfecture de Police Arrests, vandalism and tear gas as protests take place in France published at 17:08 BST Jacob Phillips Live reporter Image source, Reuters Image caption, Protesters take cover as a water canon is used at a demonstration in Paris Police in Paris say that more than 3,000 checks have been carried out and 65 people were arrested during demonstrations in the French capital. Here is a reminder of some other disruptions: A group of 400 people have blocked a key road in Saint-Étienne bringing traffic to a standstill, according to the prefect for the region In Marseille tear gas was used on protesters who prepared to shield themselves using a barricade In Lyon around 10,000 people gathered at several unauthorised marches which were dispersed with tear gas, according to Franceinfo Several clashes took place between police and protesters in Strasbourg while a water cannon was used as several unauthorised marches took place in Nancy , according to Le Parisien Six people were arrested in Nantes following "vandalism and looting," according to the region's prefecture Meanwhile, the mayor of Nice says that 30 arrests have been made in his city According to French broadcaster BFMTV, protests have been permitted in eight cities in France . The yellow vests, key participants in last weekend's protests, previously said more than 700 gatherings were planned across France on Saturday.
Source: BBC
