PROTESTERS STAGE RALLIES ACROSS FRANCE

Protesters marched across France on Saturday over living costs and public services. The Interior Ministry estimated that 410,000 people joined the demonstrations nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris. A union organising the authorised rallies put turnout at 800,000 nationwide and 250,000 in the capital. Interior minister Laurent Nunez said police had arrested 135 people by early afternoon and deployed about 70,000 officers across France.

Clashes broke out in Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Nice and Marseille, and officers fired tear gas in Lyon and Nantes. In Paris, luxury shops boarded up windows and added guards, while tourist attractions and metro stations closed ahead of the protests. Some shopkeepers armed themselves with baseball bats, crowbars and shotguns to protect their businesses. During earlier unrest in Nice, footage showed Micromania sales assistant Pierre trying to stop looters entering his workplace before someone kicked him to the ground. Looters ransacked the shop, and Pierre later set up a fundraiser for himself and his colleagues. He said: “I'm not a hero.”

The demonstrations began over conditions in schools and spread as protesters raised concerns about rising living costs and public services. The latest rallies followed unrest and looting the previous weekend. The Interior Ministry put turnout at the previous week’s protests at 550,000. Emmanuel Macron met secondary school unions on Friday to discuss their demands. Student leaders said they remained dissatisfied after the talks and urged pupils to keep protesting until the government presented concrete proposals.