French authorities arrested nearly 1,000 people Saturday as nationwide protests over austerity policies, wages, pensions and the cost of living resumed, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters. He did not specify where the arrests took place.
Police conducted preemptive searches on demonstrators throughout the day, confiscating suspected weapons including fireworks and ball bearings before crowds could gather, Reuters reported.
In Paris alone, police carried out more than 3,000 checks and arrested 65 people. Police estimated 110,000 marched in the capital, while union organizers put the number at more than double that, 250,000. Nationally, the Interior Ministry counted roughly 410,000 participants against union estimates of 800,000.
The government deployed some 70,000 police officers across the country to contain the demonstrations after unrest the previous weekend, when more than 2,700 people were arrested as protests turned into riots and looting. Cars were burned and the city hall building in Limoges was set on fire during that earlier unrest.
Paris looked like a city bracing for a siege. Shopkeepers boarded up storefronts, museums shut their doors, and more than 20 metro stations suspended service for the day.
The Paris Police Department framed the heavy security posture as protective of demonstrators themselves.
“Violent individuals have no place in the marches,” the department said in a social media post. “The objective is clear: to prevent troublemakers from joining the procession, and to ensure the safety of the demonstrators.”
Outside the capital, police used tear gas to disperse crowds in Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille and Nice. In Nice, officers also deployed a water cannon against demonstrators who refused to retreat. Marseille and Lyon saw clashes break out between police and hooded youths.
The protest movement began weeks ago, led by high school and university students angry over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school buildings. It grew into a broader national movement once major labor unions joined in, widening the grievances to include opposition to the government’s austerity agenda and mounting anger over wages, pensions and the cost of living.
