France arrests nearly 1,000 people in new round of protests Saturday

France saw another weekend of mass protests as an estimated 410,000 demonstrators thronged the streets to decry school funding cuts and rising living costs, challenging Emmanuel Macron in his final months as president.

The French interior minister declared police had made nearly 1,000 arrests during the day and the number would increase.

People airing economic and education grievances marched from Porte d'Italie in Paris in largely peaceful protests on Saturday, after looters and vandals went on the rampage that left thousands of businesses damaged last weekend.

A high school students leader insisted their key demands including the repeal of the state-run Parcoursup, the controversial admissions platform criticised for being opaque and discriminatory, the massive recruitment of teachers with permanent positions as well as a national plan for the renovation of buildings.

Authorities have beefed up policing with deployment of 70,000 officers nationwide backed up by helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannons.

As dusk fell, clashes broke out at the endpoint of the demonstration on the city's eastern edge.

An Associated Press reporter said, "I am at Port de Vincennes on the eastern edge of Paris at the end of a march that drew more than 100,000 people. The night has settled, and for more than an hour now, masked protesters have been throwing objects and fireworks at riot police, and police have answered with tear gas and stun grenades."

He said, "Every time a canister lands, the crowd scatters in one direction, chased by the police on motorbikes. Riot police have also sealed off the square, and many protesters are trapped inside."

Much of central Paris took on the appearance of a city under lockdown, as major museums including the Louvre confirmed closure for the day for safety reasons. Performance venues followed suit.

Shopkeepers boarded up storefronts in response to the unrest and more than 20 metro stations were shut.

Street fire burned in France's second city, Marseille, where barricades and rubbish bins were set alight.

Media reports say police fired tear gas to tackle crowds in Strasbourg, Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Bordeaux, and used water cannons in Rennes.

Speaking to reporters, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez noted Saturday's outcome was less intense than the mass disorder on October 17.

He added the downtown businesses have been protected yet there have been a few incidents of vandalism or looting of businesses in several cities but in very limited numbers.

Nunez pointed to far-left groups and criminal gangs that he said "broke away from the main body and sought to commit acts of violence."

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{France arrests nearly 1,000 people in new round of protests Saturday}