Sporadic clashes between police and protesters as renewed demonstrations sweep France

Tens of thousands of people protested across France Saturday in a new show of anger against the government with clashes erupting between police and some protesters in Paris following a peaceful march through the capital.

The protests marked the fourth consecutive weekend of demonstrations against the rising cost of living which have erupted as the country heads to presidential elections in five months' time where the far right sees its best chance yet to win power.

A total of 146,000 people took part in demonstrations across France on Saturday, including 46,000 in Paris, the interior ministry said. Unions put the figure at 250,000 protesters nationwide, with 75,000 in the capital. Some 70,000 members of the security forces were deployed Saturday.

These figures were lower than the previous three weekends of protests but also came after a mass union protest on Thursday that rallied 575,000 people according to the authorities – 1.6 million according to unions.

At the end of the protest in Paris, police used tear gas against individuals throwing projectiles and homemade fireworks at the security forces, an AFP correspondent said.

Police alleged that a group of 200 violent individuals attacked officers as they were arresting a man who had set fire to a trash bin in the square.

Banned protests thwarted

Some 70,000 members of the security forces were deployed Saturday, ready to move in quickly after riots and looting broke out on the fringes of nationwide peaceful demonstrations on October 17.

Unions had staged a march along a traditional route, from the Place de la République in central Paris to Place de la Nation in the east of the city where the clashes erupted at the end of the protest. This wave of demonstrations started in late September when high school students protested conditions at their establishments.

But the Yellow Vests movement – a group whose protests shook Emmanuel Macron in the early years of his presidency almost a decade ago – called for a rival demonstration at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris, a stone's throw from the president's Élysée Palace and the lower house of parliament.

This action has been banned by the authorities, and on Saturday a large police presence prevented protesters from getting close. Some 100 people who arrived were surrounded by police and one of the movement's coordinators, Benjamin Ball, and its spokeswoman, Azelma Sigaux, were among those arrested by police, an AFP reporter said.

In the southeastern city of Lyon, police fired tear gas to disperse several hundred people in the city centre blocking a road during an unauthorised gathering.

'Keep the pressure on'

The wave of demonstrations was sparked by a movement in late September by high school students angered by deteriorating classroom conditions. These teens, joined by university students, remain at the heart of the protests.

"Today is a date that helps keep the pressure on," said Sabine Kharbach, spokeswoman of the Student Union. "Many young people are mobilising because the government's responses remain unsatisfactory."

The police response has faced criticism for being heavy-handed, with dozens of internal investigations launched into allegations of brutality against demonstrators.

Police's rubber-coated projectile balls or grenades have caused at least 20 people – including teenagers – to be seriously injured during protests since mid-September, according to an AFP count.

Earlier cases included a 14-year-old who in September lost most of his teeth when a police officer fired a grenade at him at point-blank range.

A 15-year-old in October lost his hand at a protest when a ball grenade exploded. A police union source said he picked it up, but a witness said the grenade landed on him.

At least two people have permanently lost the use of an eye after being shot by police sting-ball grenades. The police response has faced criticism for being heavy-handed.

Shop windows of stores in Paris and other cities were again barricaded with wooden shutters and often closed for the day to prevent potential ransacking.

The government is grappling with ways to find solutions but maintains it is constrained by France's heavy debt.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is to meet unions and employer federation representatives on Monday to discuss wages and purchasing power.

But student and teacher groups in France have called for a new strike on Tuesday to keep pressure on the government for more education spending, saying they were "in a position of strength (and) the government in a position of weakness and starting to yield".

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)