565 people detained at protests in France, police officer hit by Molotov cocktail in Paris

Clashes broke out between protesters and law enforcement during Saturday's protests in Paris, Marseille and other French cities. According to the Interior Ministry, police detained 565 people nationwide.

According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, around 150 protests held across the country passed peacefully, but at the end of the demonstrations police faced an unusually high level of violence from some participants.

He said that in Paris one of the police officers responsible for suppressing the unrest was hit by a "Molotov cocktail". The minister described the incident as an attempted murder. Four police officers and one gendarme were injured in Paris.

According to the ministry, about 320,000 people took part in the protests nationwide, including 70,000 who gathered in Paris. They avoided the city center and marched along the boulevards of the south-eastern suburbs.

Earlier in the week, Nuñez said that 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, including elite units, would be deployed to ensure security at the protests.

Saturday's protests in France were the third wave of demonstrations. Participants were protesting against rising living costs and the deterioration of the quality of public services.