70,000 Officers Deployed as French Protests Yield Nearly 1,000 Detentions

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said late on Saturday that nearly 1,000 people had been detained during nationwide demonstrations, with the count expected to rise. Two people were reported seriously injured, one in Toulouse and the other in Clermont-Ferrand. The interior ministry estimated 410,000 people joined the marches, while unions put the figure at about 800,000.

About 70,000 police officers were deployed and restrictions were imposed in several cities. In Paris, officers used batons against masked youths who were smashing the windows of a car dealership after a march from Porte d'Italie toward Porte de Vincennes. Nuñez said "several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 individuals identified as rioters", according to AFP. Tear gas and water cannon were used to disperse crowds in multiple locations.

The day's events followed a week of unrest. President Emmanuel Macron decreed earlier in the week that only demonstrations organized by recognized trade unions would be permitted. Hundreds of people have been jailed for vandalism, arson and looting after fast-track court hearings in recent days. Last weekend, about 550,000 people demonstrated against rising fuel prices and the cost of living. More than 2,500 arrests followed that week, with over 2,000 shops and businesses said to be directly affected. Damage was estimated by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry at hundreds of millions of euros, and about 1,000 police officers were injured.

In Marseille, rubbish bins were set alight and metal sheets were used to block streets. In Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd in an area the local prefecture had declared off-limits. "There were around 150 of us, mostly secondary school and university students," one protester said. "You could barely see anything in the street." Unrest also reached Tirana, Albania, where riot police fired tear gas at thousands of anti-government demonstrators, and clashes were reported in Brussels. In Milan, hundreds of soldiers and police prevented protesters from gathering.

Demonstrators cited cost-of-living pressures and conditions in schools. A 26-year-old Paris protester who gave her name as Zelie told the BBC that people were "suffering a lot" and that "it's been too much". Separately, some 13,000 people rallied peacefully in Orléans against the hard-right National Rally party. Presidential elections are six months away, and leading contenders have blamed Macron and his ministers.

Authorities deployed the 70,000 officers to prevent a repeat of the previous weekend's disorder, when officers were outnumbered, hundreds of businesses were looted and buildings were torched. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds in Paris and other cities on Saturday. Nuñez said the arrest figure would continue to rise.