French authorities arrest nearly 1,000 protestors nationwide while seizing potential weapons during weekend demonstrations

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported that approximately 1,000 individuals were detained during Saturday’s nationwide protest wave.

Police conducted preemptive searches of demonstrators earlier in the day, apprehending suspects found with potential weapons such as fireworks and ball bearings, according to Reuters.

Minister Nuñez did not disclose the specific locations of the arrests.

In Paris, where authorities estimated the march size at 110,000 participants, police performed over 3,000 identity checks and detained 65 individuals, the BBC reported.

The Interior Ministry reported roughly 410,000 participants across the country, whereas labor unions estimated the total turnout at 800,000. In Paris, union figures placed attendance at 250,000, considerably higher than the official police count of 110,000, CBS News noted.

AMERICANS WARNED ABOUT PARIS TRAVEL AFTER VIOLENCE, LOOTING AND TEAR GAS-FILLED STREETS

Thousands of protestors march in the streets of Paris on Saturday. (Thibault Camus/AP Photo)

Paris police emphasized that “violent individuals have no place in the marches,” posting on social media that the goal is to prevent troublemakers from joining and to safeguard demonstrators.

Central Paris took on the appearance of a lockdown, with shopfronts boarded up, museums closed, and over 20 metro stations temporarily shut.

In several other cities such as Clermont‑Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille and Nice, police used tear gas to disperse unruly crowds, Reuters reported.

Nice police employed a water cannon against demonstrators who resisted withdrawal, while in Marseille and Lyon clashes erupted between officers and hooded youths.

FRANCE’S TEEN RIOTS TAKE EXPLOSIVE NEW TURN AS GOVERNMENT POINTS FINGER AT HARD LEFT

A protestor holding a French flag and a sign moves through tear gas during a protest in Lyon, France, Saturday. (Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo)

Approximately 70,000 officers have been deployed nationwide to curb agitators and avert a repeat of earlier unrest, which included car arson and the setting of Limoges city hall ablaze.

During the preceding weekend, more than 2,700 individuals were taken into custody after demonstrations escalated into riots and looting.

The nationwide marches were intended to express widespread discontent with the French government, with demonstrators voicing a variety of grievances.

Police officers detain protesters during a demonstration in Strasbourg, France, on Saturday. (Jean-Francois Badias/AP Photo)

The protests originated weeks before the weekend and were spearheaded by high‑school and university students, who complained about teacher shortages and substandard school conditions such as overcrowding and deteriorating infrastructure.

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