Fresh clashes rock France as protesters march on

PARIS — Clashes erupted across France on Saturday as protesters took to the streets, a week after marches that degenerated into violence and prompted a firm security backlash from President Emmanuel Macron.

Police arrested more than 1,300 people in weekend protests across the country, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday, adding that 53 officers were hurt in clashes.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said officers faced "an extremely elevated level of violence" from black-clad "ultra-left" extremists.

Riot police squads fired tear gas at protesters in the capital as well as in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes.

Two people were "seriously" injured, Nunez said: one man in Toulouse, who reportedly had his fingers blown off, and another person in Clermont-Ferrand. He did not give details of either case.

Authorities had deployed 70,000 security personnel across France for the new marches, called to protest the cost of living.

The violence came a week after rioting that saw public buildings vandalized, hundreds of shops looted and 2,700 people arrested, casting a pall over the country six months before an election to choose Macron's successor.

Nunez said Saturday's outcome was more "positive" than a week ago, with more police on the streets acting more rapidly, conducting more pre-demonstration checks and better protecting businesses.

Saturday's demonstrations drew between 410,000 and 800,000 people across the country, according to different estimates by authorities and the organizing CGT union.

Meanwhile in Italy, protests over rising living costs, military expansion and increased arms spending swept across several cities on Saturday, with clashes between demonstrators and police reported in multiple locations.

In Rome, demonstrators set off from Piazza della Repubblica for an anti-war march, according to the ANSA news agency.

Clashes erupted between protesters and police in the city center later in the evening, prompting police to use water cannons and tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowds.

AGENCIES-XINHUA