Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested across France following violent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement during nationwide protests, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
The demonstrations—which followed a weekend of unrest and looting—drew hundreds of thousands of participants to city streets, including an estimated 110,000 marchers in Paris alone. While many demonstrations began peacefully, tensions escalated by evening as barricades were set alight, shopfronts damaged, and projectiles thrown. Police deployed tear gas, water cannons, and armored vehicles in several cities, including Lyon, Nantes, Rennes, Toulon, and Marseille, to disperse hostile crowds and dismantle street blockades.
