Nearly 1,000 people were arrested Saturday as protests swept across France once again, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters.
Earlier, police carried out preventive searches and detained people suspected of possessing possible weapons, including fireworks and ball bearings, Reuters reported.
Nuñez did not say where the arrests took place.
In Paris, police estimated that 110,000 people took part in the march. Officers carried out more than 3,000 checks and arrested 65 people, the BBC reported.
France’s Interior Ministry put nationwide attendance at about 410,000, while union organizers estimated that 800,000 people participated. In Paris, unions reported a turnout of 250,000, more than double the police estimate of 110,000, according to CBS News.
Thousands of protesters march through the streets of Paris on Saturday. (Thibault Camus/AP Photo)
“Violent individuals have no place in the marches,” the Paris Police Department said in a social media post. “The objective is clear: to prevent troublemakers from joining the procession and to ensure the safety of demonstrators.”
Central Paris took on the appearance of a city under lockdown. Businesses boarded up their storefronts, museums shut their doors and more than 20 Metro stations suspended service.
Police in several other cities, including Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille and Nice, used tear gas to disperse unruly crowds, Reuters reported.
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In Nice, officers also deployed a water cannon against demonstrators who refused to move back. Clashes were reported in Marseille and Lyon between police and hooded youths.
A protester carrying a French flag and a sign walks through tear gas during a demonstration in Lyon, France, Saturday. (Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo)
About 70,000 police officers were deployed throughout France to deter agitators and prevent a repeat of the unrest seen during recent demonstrations, when cars were set ablaze and the city hall in Limoges was burned.
More than 2,700 people were arrested last weekend after protests escalated into riots and looting.
The nationwide demonstrations reflected wider frustration with the French government, as protesters raised a broad range of grievances.
Police officers detain protesters during a demonstration in Strasbourg, France, on Saturday. (Jean-Francois Badias/AP Photo)
The protests began several weeks ago, led initially by high school and university students angered by teacher shortages and deteriorating conditions in schools, including overcrowded classrooms and aging buildings.
The movement expanded after major labor unions joined the demonstrations. Their participation widened the focus to opposition to the government’s austerity measures, as well as concerns about wages, pensions and the rising cost of living.
