PARIS, France
Protesters clashed with police in Paris and other French cities on Saturday as hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest higher living costs and the declining conditions in schools and other public services.
Several town halls were broken into – and in at least one instance set on fire – and many shops were vandalised and ransacked.
One protester had his hand torn off by what appeared to be a crowd-control grenade used by police.
Police and protesters clashed violently in Paris and other French cities Saturday on the sidelines of nationwide marches against soaring inflation, with one demonstrator's hand blown off, multiple blazes set and looters breaking into dozens of stores to strip them bare.
The widespread unrest follows weeks of student protests and deepens political uncertainty in France as it readies for elections in six months' time to replace President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron and his government were criticised by many of the demonstrators, who numbered 500,000 across the country, according to the CGT union. Authorities did not immediately give their estimate of numbers.
Police used tear gas and water cannon against masked protesters in Paris and other cities who were throwing projectiles and aiming fireworks.
Several parked cars were torched in the capital, and more than 130 arrests made.
In the southern city of Saint-Etienne, a male protester had his hand blown off by a police crowd-control grenade, a police source told AFP.
His maiming came after a 15-year-old lost his hand October 5 to a police stun grenade during another protest in the city of Lens.
In Lyon, protesters set ablaze a tourist office in the city centre, and smashed their way into town halls in the cities of Marseille and Lille, where they vandalised the premises before leaving.
Dozens of shops were looted, including many in Marseille, among them a Hermes boutique, an Apple store in Lille, several shops in Nice and at least one mobile phone outlet in Paris, AFP journalists saw.
A crowd of more than 300 protesters tried to move up Paris's Champs-Elysees, home to flagship luxury stores. As police firing tear gas blocked their way, they yelled "All cops are bastards".
The looting and confrontations with police were being carried out by masked youths on the sidelines of marches that were largely peaceful and which attracted people of all ages, including families with children.
Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire stressed that "the overwhelming majority of demonstrators" wanted to "march calmly", but "acts of vandalism" were tarnishing their protest.
In Paris, tens of thousands marched across the east and north of the city in one major march, some shouting "Everyone hates the police" and "Macron, resign".
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