One dead and nearly 2,400 arrested as France protests turn violent

Students, trade unionists and Yellow Vest activists held demonstrations across France on Saturday over high prices, inequality and problems in schools.

The Interior Ministry said some 550,000 people joined nationwide demonstrations. The demonstrations took place across 110 marches. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 110,000 people took part in Paris alone.

Clashes followed in Paris and other cities. Police used tear gas and stun grenades as demonstrations resumed in the capital. Around the Les Halles shopping centre, large numbers of officers were deployed and fired tear gas and stun grenades. Near Boulevard Sébastopol, several dozen young people shouted anti-police slogans and threw glass bottles at police.

Groups of young people dressed in black and wearing balaclavas moved through the streets. A major fire was lit on a side street near Place de la Republique. Protesters broke the windows of the western Paris offices of the broadcasters CNews and Europe 1.

Looters entered the BHV Marais department store in central Paris. Dozens of shops were looted in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux and Lille.

A protester died of cardiorespiratory arrest during Saturday’s demonstration in Paris. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation on Sunday to establish the cause of death.

The Interior Ministry said nearly 2,400 people were arrested and at least 1,000 police and gendarmes were injured. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu gave a lower arrest figure, saying some 1,200 people had been arrested across the country.

Visiting officers deployed in Paris on Saturday evening, Lecornu said: “It's a miracle the toll wasn't higher.”

In a televised national address, President Emmanuel Macron vowed accountability for “those who sought to bring down the Republic”. On Sunday, Macron condemned the “unbridled violence” that had erupted during the cost-of-living protests. He said the prime minister would convene a crisis unit on Monday to provide urgent aid for people “going through difficult moments”.

US President Donald Trump blamed immigration for the protests and called on France to close its borders.