Tourist office in Lyon, France, set on fire.
Violence in many cities as hundreds of thousands take to streets to protest living costs, social service cuts
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Violent clashes between protesters and police erupted across France on Saturday amid nationwide demonstrations against rising living costs and declining public services.
While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully in street marches, some protesters were seen setting fires, looting stores and damaging public buildings.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said more than 150 police officers had been injured and around 1,200 people had been arrested as part of the protests. Local officials confirmed a young protester had his hand severed in the city of Saint-Étienne.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said an estimated 550,000 people took part in the protests, including one in Paris that counted 110,000 demonstrators.
Event organizers say there were more than 800,000 participants across the country.
President Emmanuel Macron vowed to prosecute and punish people engaging in violence.
Thousands of people took to the streets in France, including Paris, where police and demonstrators clashed for hours. Police say they’ve made hundreds of arrests.
Hundreds of thousands of people protested across France on Saturday against the rising cost of living and cuts to social services.
Activists with the “yellow vest” protest movement and major French unions joined student protesters who have been demanding an end to inequalities in the education system and more resources for schools.
Government officials said about 550,000 people had taken to the streets across the country, but event organizers put the number at more than 800,000.
Clashes with police broke out in several cities as groups of people smashed shop windows, broke into municipal buildings and started fires on the margins of the protests.
Late Saturday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said around 1,200 people had been arrested as part of the protests and more than 150 police officers had been injured.
It was not immediately clear how many protesters were injured throughout the day. But officials confirmed that a young demonstrator lost a hand during protests in Saint-Étienne in central France, adding that an investigation is underway.
Political leaders and municipal officials, including the mayor of Paris, appealed for calm and denounced the violence.
President Emmanuel Macron said anyone who attacked government buildings or businesses “will be punished” while the French justice minister said he had instructed prosecutors to take an “extremely firm judicial response” to the violence.