French police clash with protesters as tens of thousands rally over cost of living

Clashes broke out between police and protesters in cities across France on Saturday as tens of thousands of people angered by rising costs and declining public services took to the streets in some of the country's most violent protests in years.

The Interior Ministry said 272 people had been arrested by mid-afternoon after violent incidents involving hooded individuals, including in Paris, Marseille in the south, Toulouse in the southwest, Angers in the west and Lyon in east-central France.

The protesters said most people were protesting peacefully and put much of the violence down to troublemakers who had set out to cause damage and clash with the police.

The ministry said, however, that violence was increasing, and that there had been "confrontations with law enforcement, looting or attempted looting of shops, attacks on and damage to public buildings." It blamed the unrest on what it described as the "ultra-left".

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In some parts of Paris, police occasionally fired tear gas rounds as they retreated in the face of mostly young protesters, many of whom were dressed in black and wore hoodies, masks and goggles to protect against tear gas.

Some tourists at a fashionable department store near the Paris opera were seen spluttering when they were caught in clouds of tear gas, and shops nearby were hastily shuttered. Windows of many shops and restaurants in the capital were smashed, and cars and trash cans were set on fire.

In Lyon, protesters torched the tourist office.

In Marseille, the mayor said the town hall had been vandalised and that additional police were being sent to the city following talks with the government.

In protests partly inspired by those in France, several hundred mostly young people also protested in Brussels on Saturday, and some clashed with police. Belgian student groups have said they are protesting against rising education costs and reforms they fear will make higher education less accessible.

Albania also faced more protests on Saturday, with police firing what appeared to be rubber bullets at protesters during a fifth day of mass student demonstrations calling for Prime Minister Edi Rama to step down.

Police response under scrutiny

The protests in France began last month at high schools in Paris' poor northern suburbs, where anger over teacher shortages and shabby facilities evolved into a broader movement focused on inequality, public spending and living standards.

"We are fighting because the cost of living is too harsh, because the price of fuel is too high, because high school pupils are being violently attacked and hurt all over the country just for trying to protest and ask for more teachers and decent learning conditions," said Lola, a 19-year-old protester in Paris.

A large police presence had been deployed in central Paris, especially near landmarks such as the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, which were excluded from the routes of two authorised demonstrations.

Protesters in high-visibility vests blocked streets, recalling the Yellow Vest movement that marked President Emmanuel Macron's previous term in office.

Macron, who urged calm on Friday, is entering the final stretch of his presidency, facing a fragmented political landscape and growing pressure over the economy.

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France's efforts to reduce public debt have failed to reassure investors, pushing government borrowing costs to their highest levels in more than two decades.

Police tactics have drawn criticism following a series of injuries among demonstrators, including a teenager who lost a hand after picking up a stun grenade. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said more than 900 police officers had also been injured in previous protests.

The police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen allegations of police violence. France suspended the use of stun grenades during the student demonstrations, but Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said they could be used on Saturday.

The Yellow Vest movement emerged in 2018 in opposition to diesel taxes before expanding into a wider protest against living costs and inequality. The movement subsided after Macron announced billions of euros in tax cuts.