Paris: French police had made 135 arrests during demonstrations across the country by 1 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) on Saturday, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said at a press briefing.
Nunez said 136 public order incidents had been recorded nationwide during Saturday’s demonstrations, with 35,000 people counted in public spaces nationwide so far.
Several French cities have authorised demonstrations for Saturday, including Lille, Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Grenoble, Marseille, Toulouse, Amiens and Paris, French television channel BFM TV reported.
For security reasons, the Paris public transport operator RATP said 24 metro stations in Paris would be closed from 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Saturday.
In Lyon, where demonstrations have been banned across a large part of the city center, small gatherings have been dispersed by law enforcement officers using tear gas grenades, BFM TV said.
Nearly 15,000 supporters of the National Rally (RN) are expected in Orleans on Saturday and Sunday for the far-right party’s congress and the launch of RN leader Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign, French daily Le Monde reported. Meanwhile, between 20,000 and 30,000 opponents of the far-right party are expected to gather in the city on Saturday.
Nunez said on Friday that 70,000 police officers and gendarmes would be deployed nationwide for the demonstrations. Soldiers from the French army’s Operation Sentinelle would also be mobilized to help prevent violence during the protests, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Nunez said last week, that more than 2,000 people were arrested during violent protests across France.
Material damage was considerable, affecting several hundred businesses, he said.
“Demonstrating is a fundamental right. Causing disorder through coordinated violence is not,” Nunez said.
The clashes erupted in late September over poor conditions in schools and teacher shortages. The movement quickly expanded into nationwide anti-government demonstrations driven by soaring living costs, high fuel prices, public sector budget cuts, criticising President Emmanuel Macron’s administration.
–IANS–
