Police launch attacks against French protests, 1000 arrested

Severe clashes have erupted between protesters and police across France, demonstrating against inflation, rising cost of living, and poor conditions in schools. Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested during these protests, which continued throughout Sunday, and the French government has deployed 70,000 police officers to control the situation.

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters in the capital, Paris, as well as in several other major cities. A protest march in Paris, which initially proceeded peacefully from Porte d'Italie to Porte de Vincennes, ended in severe clashes with the police. Notably, a special police unit used to combat organized crime and terrorism also participated in this operation. When a group of masked youths broke the windows of a car dealership, police responded with baton charges to disperse them. Protesters also erected temporary roadblocks and threw various objects at the police.

Severe unrest was also reported in Marseille, France's second-largest city, and in the southern city of Bordeaux. In Marseille, protesters set fire to rubbish bins and used metal sheets to block roads, with a police vehicle seen driving through a burning roadblock. In Bordeaux, some protesters blocked roads using wooden planks torn from a shop and buildings.

In Lyon, the third-largest city, police also fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that had entered an area where authorities had banned gatherings. "There were about 150 of us, mostly high school and university students. Suddenly, tear gas was fired. Our eyes were so blurry we couldn't see anything on the street," said a protester who participated in the demonstration in Lyon.

According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, nearly 500 of the thousands of radical activists who joined the protest have been identified as rioters. He also stated that the number of arrests could further increase. Two people sustained serious injuries due to the clashes in the southwestern city of Toulouse and Clermont-Ferrand in central France. However, authorities managed to prevent large-scale looting and acts of violence similar to those seen the previous week.

There is a significant discrepancy between the government and trade unions regarding participation in this massive wave of protests. According to data from the French Ministry of Interior, 410,000 people participated in protests across the country, while trade unions claim the number is around 800,000.