Nearly 1,000 arrested as hundreds of thousands protest across France over living costs and schools

French police arrested nearly 1,000 people on Saturday as hundreds of thousands marched across the country over the cost of living and school conditions, with clashes breaking out in Paris and other cities after largely peaceful daytime demonstrations, according to BBC News and PBS NewsHour.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the arrest figure was expected to rise, both outlets reported. The BBC said he also reported two people seriously injured, one in Toulouse and one in Clermont-Ferrand.

Turnout estimates differed widely. The Interior Ministry put the national figure at 410,000, while unions estimated about 800,000, according to both outlets. PBS, carrying an Associated Press report, said the ministry counted 110,000 in Paris, against 250,000 claimed by the CGT union, and that the ministry had counted 550,000 protesters the previous weekend.

In Paris, violence erupted near the end of a march that authorities had confined to the city's southeastern edge. PBS reported masked protesters throwing objects and fireworks at police, who responded with tear gas, sound grenades and water cannon. The BBC reported police baton-charging masked youths who were breaking windows at a car dealership. Nuñez said "several thousand radical activists gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 individuals identified as rioters," the BBC reported, citing AFP.

Barricades were set on fire in Marseille, and tear gas was used in Lyon, where authorities had banned rallies, according to both outlets. PBS said water cannon were used in Nice and Nantes, and that 11 people were arrested in Nice after far-right extremists fought with demonstrators.

About 70,000 officers were deployed. Nuñez credited the heavier policing with preventing a repeat of the previous weekend, when, according to the BBC, more than 2,500 people were arrested and more than 2,000 businesses were affected by looting and damage. The BBC reported that President Emmanuel Macron had decreed this week that only demonstrations organized by recognized trade unions would be allowed. Unions criticized local rally bans as violating freedom of expression, PBS reported.

The unrest began more than a month ago with a protest over staff shortages at a high school southeast of Paris, PBS reported. Student groups are seeking 250,000 more higher-education places, an end to selection through the Parcoursup admissions system, and higher student grants. Macron met high school representatives on Friday; they said he promised to overhaul university admissions but urged protests to continue.

Teacher Bénédicte Pittion, who marched with her daughter, told the AP: "The young people who have been demonstrating have not been heard."

The protests come ahead of a presidential election. PBS said the far-right National Rally has accused the government of failing to protect the public, while far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has backed the demonstrators. A separate peaceful rally against the National Rally took place in Orléans; the BBC put attendance there at about 13,000.

Compiled by True News from reporting by BBC News and PBS NewsHour. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/428