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French authorities have so far arrested 135 people Saturday as nationwide protests resumed, France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters.
Most of the arrests were prompted after police officers preemptively searched protesters, Reuters reported. Those taken into custody allegedly had items that could be used as weapons, including fireworks and ball bearings.
Nuñez did not specify where the arrests were made. In Paris, where tens of thousands of people are marching, police said they have conducted more than 3,000 checks and arrested 65 people, the BBC reported.
“Violent individuals have no place in the marches,” the Paris Police Department said in a social media post. “The objective is clear: to prevent troublemakers from joining the procession, and to ensure the safety of the demonstrators.”
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Central Paris resembled a city under lockdown, as shopkeepers boarded up storefronts, museums closed and more than 20 metro stations suspended service.
In other cities — including Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille and Nice — police have resorted to firing tear gas to break up unruly crowds, Reuters reported.
Also in Nice, police used a water cannon to disperse a group of demonstrators who refused to pull back. And in Marseille and Lyon, there have been clashes between police officers and hooded youths.
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Some 70,000 police officers have been deployed across France to clamp down on agitators and prevent the kind of unrest seen during recent demonstrations, when cars were torched and the city hall building in Limoges was set on fire.
Last weekend, more than 2,700 people were arrested during protests that later turned into riots and looting sprees.
The nationwide marches were meant to reflect broader dissatisfaction with the French government, with protesters taking to the streets to air a range of different grievances.
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The protests began weeks earlier and were led by high school and university students. They were frustrated with teacher shortages and poor conditions at schools, including overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings.
The movement gained momentum when major labor unions joined the demonstrations, broadening the protests to include opposition to the government’s austerity policies and concerns over wages, pensions and the overall cost of living.
