Almost 1,000 people arrested as another wave of protests erupt in France

Paris: Almost 1,000 people have been arrested in France on Saturday as another wave of protests took place in the country, with over 40,000 residents taking part in the demonstrations, a report has said.

The majority of the protests took place peacefully. However, clashes erupted between protesters and police in several cities of France, including Marseilles, Rennes, Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Toulouse, Euro News reported.

Police fired tear gas and charged crowds around Porte de Vincennes in Paris while some of the protesters launched fireworks towards security personnel, as per the report. Police deployed a water cannon to break up protesters and conducted checks of people travelling through the Nation Square.

French authorities had planned a ramped-up operation after the chaos erupted in France last weekend, when protests against rising inflation resulted in people setting fire to many places and looters breaking into dozens of shops to strip them bare. French authorities had mobilised around 70,000 security personnel ahead of planned protests on Saturday.

The Yellow Vests movement has said that another protest will be held on October 31, Euro News reported.

On Sunday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez thanked regional prefects, police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters for their commitment and professionalism in ensuring the safety of the people of France.

He said that people of the ultra-left and radical far-left tried to sow disorder in Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble, Nantes, Angers, Lille, Paris and many other cities, terming the acts "unacceptable." He asserted that the violence inflicted upon the internal security forces is "intolerable."

In a post on X, Nunez said: "I want to salute the exceptional commitment and professionalism of all the regional prefects, prefects, police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters mobilised across France to ensure the safety of our fellow citizens and allow the processions to proceed smoothly. But notably in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble, Nantes, Angers, Lille, and many other cities, individuals from the ultra-left and radical far-left have once again sought to sow disorder, particularly during the dispersal of the processions. These acts are unacceptable."

"I also extend my full support to the police officers and gendarmes injured today. The violence inflicted on the internal security forces, once again, is intolerable. They are deliberately targeted because of their uniforms and, above all, because they are the bulwarks of our Republic that these radical militants seek to bring down," he added.

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