Over 1,000 arrested in France after a day of mostly peaceful protests

Officials in France said more than 1,300 arrests have been made as hundreds of thousands of people took part in another day of protests across the country on Saturday.

Interior minister Laurent Nuñez said, however, this number was expected to increase significantly as more were counted.

While the demonstrations were mostly peaceful, the rallies gave way to clashes in both Paris, Marseille, and elsewhere as night fell, despite a large security presence.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in a number of cities including the capital, but largely managed to avoid the scale of rioting and looting seen last weekend.

Nunez estimated nationwide turnout at 410,00 while the CGT union that helped organise some of the protests said the figure was nearly double that amount.

The main demonstration took place on the outskirts of Paris with more than 110,000 people turning out to denounce rising living costs and growing inequality.

Protests over the past month were initially over school funding before expanding to other complaints, upping pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

The unrest is playing out against the backdrop of an increasing polarised political landscape ahead of next year’s presidential elections.

The far-right National Rally has accused Macron’s government of failing to protect the public and urged voters to channel their anger into support for the party.

Protests triggered by similar issues as in France also rocked several other European cities on Saturday.

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