About 1,000 people detained at protests in France

Around 1,000 people were detained at protests held in France on Saturday, in which hundreds of thousands of people took part. The information is being reported by BBC.

According to officials, the protests were later followed by clashes in several places. In Paris and several other cities, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.

In Marseille, protesters set fire to barricades, while in Bordeaux, they tore protective boards off a shop window. In Lyon, police used tear gas to disperse people who, according to reports, had gathered in an area declared off-limits to demonstrations by the local prefecture.

BBC writes that despite the unrest, the authorities so far have managed to prevent unrest and looting on the scale seen last weekend.

The Interior Ministry's estimate is that 410,000 people took part in Saturday's protests. According to trade unions, the number of protesters was about 800,000.

Around 70,000 police officers were mobilized to maintain order, and restrictions were also imposed in several cities.