PRAGUE -- Thousands of protesters, including university students and artists, took to the streets in Prague and other cities on Tuesday as Czech public television and radio workers held a one-day strike against a government plan to cut financing and move funding to the state budget.

Workers and demonstrators called the plan an attempt to hurt the broadcasters' independence and viability, and they demanded that the government scrap the planned reform. The strike also led to broadcast curbs.

The strike escalates a fight over the future of the broadcasters that a 2025 Reuters Institute survey found were among the country's most followed and most trusted news sources. The government's bill passed a preliminary vote last month and now awaits further debate in parliament.

Czech Television's 24-hour news broadcast showed a darkened newsroom and moderators dressed in black reading, unusually, from a script.

The government of billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis, backed by the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and eurosceptic Motorists parties, has frequently accused private and public media of bias. The coalition wants to cancel a 205-crown ($9.43) monthly household broadcasting fee — currently used for funding — in its overhaul.

Opposition parties have compared the proposed changes to reforms in Hungary under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a Babis ally who built an array of pro-government media during his 16 years in office.

"This proposal, if passed, will give the government coalition tools to politically influence the content of both public media," Czech TV reporter Jan Molacek, a member of the strike committee, said.

The government parties introduced the bill unexpectedly on a Friday last month, curbing debate and forcing a preliminary vote before dawn on the Saturday.

On Tuesday, media workers and supporters marched from the Czech Television headquarters to Prague's Wenceslas Square, where thousands gathered to back their demands.　　

"I want the media to continue to be free," said student Alena Jechova, 23.

CHANGES POSSIBLE IN FURTHER DEBATE

Critics say the funding shift to the budget would remove the relationship between the media and paying viewers, and funding decisions would become open to political pressure.

A 15 percent financing cut proposed as part of the change would reduce public television's nominal budget to the level of 2008 and radio's to that of 2005. The media have called such cuts unbearable.

Babis reiterated on Monday that the government was merely meeting a promise to lighten the financial burden on the public.

"There is no fight over democracy. Nobody wants to take over the public media or bring them under state control," he said, adding that changes to the bill could be made in further debate.

Molacek said a funding change was not impossible but needed to be based on a thorough debate and backed by legal safeguards against meddling.

Agencies

PARIS - French high school student protests resumed on Monday on a much smaller scale than ​in past weeks as pupils returned from a two-week break, with ‌youngsters trying to blockade a few high schools in Paris, Marseille and Rennes, French media reported.

By 0830 GMT some 41 high schools — about 1percent of those nationwide — were blockaded, the ​Education Ministry said.

Hundreds of France's more than 3,000 high schools were ​blockaded in the weeks prior to the break. The protests, which ⁠began in the Paris suburbs in September, have spread across France and broadened ​beyond education to focus on the cost of living, drawing in trade unionists ​and activists and sometimes turning violent.

A wave of so-called "Gen Z" protests has swept across European countries including Germany, Italy, Belgium and Albania, driven by grievances including the cost of living, the ​poor state of schools and perceived corruption.

Last month French protests degenerated into violent ​clashes with the police and outright riots in several cities, with shops looted, in a ‌test ⁠for President Emmanuel Macron's minority government.

"In terms of blockades — or rather, attempted blockades — the phenomenon is very marginal. We're talking about just a handful of units, a few individual schools," Education Minister Edouard Geffray told radio station France Inter on Monday morning.

He ​said protests are ​allowed but preventing ⁠access to schools is illegal.

Police officers were present, TV footage showed, though not in full anti-riot gear.

Students want the renovation ​of aging schools, more teachers, more university places and ​the end ⁠of a university admissions system they see as socially unfair.

Geffray offered last week to cap class sizes at 28, dedicate 4 billion euros ($4.47 billion) to renovating schools, create 15,000 new ⁠places ​for students in higher education and a new ​admission system by 2028. High school student representatives said the offers were not enough and they ​would keep protesting.

Agencies

MADRID - Spanish police removed remaining protesters and tents from Madrid's main square early on Tuesday, officials said, after most of the people demonstrating against soaring rents, home shortages and evictions had already left voluntarily.

The pre-dawn operation ended a five-week encampment in the Puerta del Sol square that had become a symbol of Spain's housing crisis and contributed to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's decision to call a snap general election for Nov 29.

The protests were sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman, who later died, with marches called by tenants' unions held across Spain.

Similar camps sprang up in squares in other major Spanish cities, as well as in neighbouring Portugal. The one in Sol grew into a miniature city, with its own named "streets", information stands, cultural activities and food distribution.

Riot police moved in to clear the camp of its remaining 334 occupants at around 3 am (0200 GMT) on Tuesday and made two arrests for disobedience and resisting officers, the office of the central government's representative in Madrid said in a statement.

The operation involved some 400 police, along with firefighters and social services, it said.

Protesters said on their Telegram messaging channel that the clearing of the camp had been violent and that several campers were injured after being beaten and attacked with pepper spray.

The government said in a separate statement that there had been no violence or disturbances.

Reuters footage showed city workers cleaning the square with water hoses, scrubbing graffiti from statues and disposing of the large plastic tarps strung between lamp posts.

On Oct 30, the campers' main representatives said they were dissolving their organising committees as their original demand had been met after the government passed several housing measures.

Instead, they planned to focus on a general strike over housing rights and cost of living called for Nov 11.

According to the government, a large number of the people still sleeping there were homeless or belonged to other vulnerable groups.

Agencies

European law enforcement agencies have vowed to throw the full weight of the law at cost-of-living protesters after demonstrations across the continent spread and turned violent.

The clampdown follows weeks of unrest that began in France as student opposition to education underfunding. The rallies morphed into continentwide mobilizations against cost-of-living increases, a lack of affordable housing, pension privatization, poor public services and several other issues.

After protesters in France allegedly hurled incendiaries at police on Saturday, prosecutors there say they have launched an attempted murder investigation and intend to put those responsible behind bars.

Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez backed the move, saying anyone who throws an incendiary device at a police officer has carried out "what I call a murder attempt".

A police officer who sustained burns to his ankle in the incident told Le Figaro newspaper that he and other officers "suddenly found ourselves facing several hundred hostile, well-equipped adversaries", who used a "particularly sophisticated" type of incendiary device, with a liquid that "had a far greater burning capacity than a standard Molotov cocktail".

"We faced hostile individuals who are not protesters," he added.

Fourteen other police officers were injured during the weekend protests in France, which were largely peaceful and involved hundreds of thousands of people taking part without resorting to violence or looting. Officers made more than 770 arrests across France over the weekend, which was significantly fewer than has been recorded in recent weeks.

Protests also took place in other countries, including Germany, which had previously been relatively calm.

Ministers there said they are planning a crackdown after looters and rioters damaged stores and injured more than 100 police officers in a major incident in Frankfurt over the weekend.

Roman Poseck, interior minister of Hesse state, said more than 1,300 police officers had struggled to maintain order, arresting 54 people aged between 13 and 29.

"I was shocked by what I have seen, and there is no point in sugarcoating it," he said. "Things cannot go on like this."

Germany has become the latest country in Europe to witness urban unrest after cost-of-living protests on the weekend turned violent. Unrest across continental Europe shows no sign of easing and continues to spread.

Protests also took place in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain over rising living costs, housing and education. Some protests involved violent clashes, and hundreds were arrested. (Video Yang Yi)

GENEVA -- A protest involving several hundred people turned violent in Zurich, Switzerland on Saturday night, leading to the arrest of two men, Swiss police said in a statement on Sunday.

The protesters, some wearing masks, protective goggles or Halloween-style outfits, gathered at a square in District 4 of Switzerland's largest city and mingled with partygoers on Saturday night. The protest turned violent as some protesters set fire to rubbish bins, e-bikes and e-scooters at various locations, the statement said.

A car was also set alight, and windows at a public transport stop and several shops were damaged.

Police said they came under repeated attacks from protesters throwing fireworks, bottles and stones, and responded by deploying water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets.

Two young Swiss men carrying weapons were arrested when collecting objects at a construction site suspected to be used as projectiles against police, a separate police statement said.

According to police, a demonstration also took place in Basel on Saturday evening. Around 150 people marched through the city center, disrupting traffic. Demonstrators erected barricades and set them on fire, while isolated incidents of property damage were reported along the route.

According to Swiss media reports, the protests in Zurich and Basel were held under the slogan "We've had enough -- in Switzerland too," with demonstrators drawing parallels with youth protests in France and other European countries.

MADRID — Another wave of protests swept across major European cities on Saturday, with demonstrators voicing grievances over issues ranging from living conditions to disputes involving public institutions.

Meanwhile, calls for gatherings on social media prompted police to step up security in several cities.

Public services, the cost of living and housing affordability remained key concerns in many of the protests.

In France, around 320,000 people took part in a new round of protests on Saturday, including about 70,000 in Paris, according to the Interior Ministry. Organizers put the nationwide turnout at nearly 500,000, including 200,000 in the capital.

Around 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed nationwide. Most marches passed off peacefully, though clashes with police and other disturbances were reported in several cities.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told reporters that, according to a preliminary tally, 422 people had been arrested across France.

In Germany, demonstrations took place in more than 30 cities on Saturday.

Protesters called for greater investment in public services and measures to address the rising cost of living, and opposed compulsory military service. By late afternoon, organizers reported more than 68,000 participants, based on figures from 12 cities.

The demonstrations were also largely peaceful, but clashes broke out in several cities in the evening. German news agency dpa reported that police officers were injured in Frankfurt, barricades were set ablaze in Hamburg, and officers came under attack in Bremen.

In Portugal, housing protests drew more than 1,000 people each in Lisbon and Porto on Saturday.

In Lisbon, demonstrators marched toward Rossio Square, where they planned to camp overnight. Police had dispersed protest encampments in both cities on Oct 25.

Political grievances also dominated protests in various countries. In Poland, an escalating dispute over the composition and leadership of the Constitutional Tribunal brought demonstrators onto the streets of Warsaw.

Protesters gathered outside the tribunal from Friday evening into Saturday, with police reporting that four people were detained during overnight operations around the building, local media reported.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki returned early from a foreign trip and announced urgent political consultations.

In Albania, protests demanding better education, improved living conditions and Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation continued for a 19th consecutive day in Tirana on Saturday, according to the Albanian Telegraphic Agency.

Some protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. The opposition Democratic Party backed the movement.

Elsewhere, social media calls for gatherings prompted heightened security measures.

In the Netherlands, police dispersed a crowd near The Hague Central Station on Saturday afternoon and urged the public to avoid the city center. Local police reported 34 arrests during the day.

The gathering followed online calls for demonstrations in several Dutch cities, some of which encouraged looting and vandalism. Some businesses boarded up their storefronts ahead of the planned gatherings.

In Spain, police stepped up security in cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia on Saturday following online calls for gatherings, local media reported.

The deployments aimed to prevent a repeat of the previous weekend's unrest in Barcelona, which left 15 officers injured and led to 128 arrests.

Spanish news agency EFE reported on Friday that police had arrested 10 people nationwide on suspicion of inciting unrest and violence through online channels.

XINHUA-AGENCIES

Germany has become the latest country in Europe to witness scenes of urban unrest after cost-of-living protests on Saturday turned violent.

Largely peaceful demonstrations organized by a group called Gen Z regelt, meaning "Gen Z takes charge", took place in cities including Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin and the country's financial center, Frankfurt, focusing on issues such as public spending cuts and underfunding in schools, the same issue that was the starting point for major disturbances in France in recent weeks.

A large area of Frankfurt's main shopping district was closed off overnight by police after premises were looted, and across the country there were reports of water cannons being used to disperse people who were pelting emergency workers with missiles.

Roman Poseck, the interior minister of Hesse state, where Frankfurt is situated, said it was "shameful" how the protests had ended, and that "around 100 clearly identified left-wing extremists" had infiltrated them.

"We all have those images from France in our minds — looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles, and attacks on police officers," he said. "France must not be held up as a model in this regard."

Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told newspaper Bild that the actions of police had prevented "violence like that seen in Paris", and vowed that troublemakers would receive "harsh punishments".

Gen Z regelt spokesperson Lina Friedrich said "What matters most to us is better support for the health and education systems … we are against compulsory military service and we are in favor of a fairer distribution of the burden."

France also saw more widespread protests on Saturday, with organizers estimating half a million people turned out, and the authorities saying around 320,000, but compared to the destruction witnessed in recent weeks, the latest demonstrations were largely peaceful.

Police had come in for heavy criticism for losing control of previous protests, which degenerated into violence and looting, and prompted French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez to tender his resignation, which was rejected.

"Security forces held their ground and protected city centers," he said on Saturday night. "Public order was maintained."

The tension in France has an added political dimension, as the country begins its build-up to the presidential election taking place in six months' time.

This week, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, who by law is not allowed to seek a third consecutive term of office, said it was "not normal" for the country to be in such a state of "turmoil" with an election on the horizon.

The current wave of protests emerged from teachers going on strike over school funding, with students coming out in support, and Le Monde newspaper quoted student union spokeswoman Sabrine Kharbach as saying "Starting this Tuesday, we will blockade our universities and high schools, and we will do so again on Thursday before joining the demonstration on Nov 5 called by workers and trade unions".

PARIS -- A total of 779 people were arrested across France during a new round of protests on Saturday against the rising cost of living, French television channel BFM TV reported Sunday, citing figures from the French Interior Ministry.

Around 320,000 people took part in a new round of protests across France on Saturday, according to the ministry. In Paris, the ministry put the number of demonstrators at 70,000 as of 5 pm (1600 GMT) on Saturday.

Although most marches passed off peacefully, the dispersal of protesters led to tensions in several cities. In Paris, a homemade explosive device detonated at the feet of a member of the security forces near Porte de Charenton in the 12th arrondissement on Saturday, leaving him slightly injured.

The Paris prosecutor's office said Sunday that an investigation had been opened on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the incident.

MADRID -- Another wave of protests swept across major European cities on Saturday, with demonstrators voicing grievances over issues ranging from living conditions to disputes involving public institutions. Meanwhile, calls for gatherings on social media prompted police to step up security in several cities.

Public services, the cost of living and housing affordability remained key concerns in many of the protests. In France, around 320,000 people took part in a new round of protests on Saturday, including about 70,000 in Paris, according to Interior Ministry figures. Organizers put the nationwide turnout at nearly 500,000, including 200,000 in the capital.

Around 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed nationwide. Most marches passed off peacefully, although clashes with police and other disturbances were reported in several cities. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told reporters that, according to a preliminary tally, 422 people had been arrested nationwide.

In Germany, demonstrations took place in more than 30 cities on Saturday. Protesters called for greater investment in public services, measures to address the rising cost of living, and opposed compulsory military service. By late afternoon, organizers reported more than 68,000 participants, based on figures from 12 cities.

As in France, the demonstrations in Germany were largely peaceful, but clashes broke out in several cities in the evening. German news agency dpa reported that police officers were injured in Frankfurt, barricades were set ablaze in Hamburg, and officers came under attack in Bremen.

In Italy, protesters remained camped near Rome's Colosseum on Saturday following nationwide demonstrations over living costs and public services. Workers and other groups had joined rallies in more than 60 cities on Friday during a general strike called by Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), Italian news agency ANSA reported. The union estimated 1.5 million people took part, while the Interior Ministry put the figure at about 255,000.

In Portugal, housing protests drew more than 1,000 people each in Lisbon and Porto on Saturday. In Lisbon, demonstrators marched toward Rossio Square, where they planned to camp overnight. Police had dispersed protest encampments in both cities on Oct 25.

Political grievances also dominated protests in various countries. In Albania, protests demanding better education, improved living conditions and Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation continued for a 19th consecutive day in Tirana on Saturday, according to the Albanian Telegraphic Agency. Some protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. The opposition Democratic Party backed the movement.

In Poland, an escalating dispute over the composition and leadership of the Constitutional Tribunal brought demonstrators onto the streets of Warsaw. Protestors gathered outside Warsaw's Constitutional Tribunal from Friday evening into Saturday, with police reporting four detained during overnight operations around the building, local media reported. Polish President Karol Nawrocki returned early from a foreign trip and announced urgent political consultations.

Elsewhere, social media calls for gatherings prompted heightened security measures. In the Netherlands, police dispersed a crowd near The Hague Central Station on Saturday afternoon and urged the public to avoid the city center. Local police reported 34 arrests during the day.

The gathering followed online calls for demonstrations in several Dutch cities, some of which encouraged looting and vandalism. Some businesses boarded up their storefronts ahead of the planned gatherings.

In Spain, police stepped up security in cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia on Saturday following online calls for gatherings, local media reported.

The deployments aimed to prevent a repeat of the previous weekend's unrest in Barcelona, which left 15 officers injured and led to 128 arrests. Spanish news agency EFE reported on Friday that police had arrested 10 people nationwide on suspicion of inciting unrest and violence through online channels.

WARSAW - Protesters clashed with police outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Friday night after the court's president was suspended amid an escalating dispute between Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government and the opposition over control of the judiciary.

Police detained three protesters who entered the court's premises. Several people were reportedly injured, according to local media.

Hundreds of demonstrators, including supporters of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, gathered outside the tribunal, accusing Tusk's government of attempting to seize control of the court. PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki were among those present.

The confrontation followed months of disputes over judicial appointments. Poland's parliament, where Tusk's ruling coalition holds a majority, has elected eight judges to the tribunal this year. However, President Karol Nawrocki, an ally of the opposition PiS party, accepted the oaths of office of only three.

The remaining five took their oaths at parliamentary ceremonies, but Nawrocki and the tribunal's president refused to recognize their status, preventing them from taking up their judicial duties.

On Friday evening, the tribunal's website announced that its president and vice president had been suspended for one month, with a newly elected judge whose status remains disputed assuming temporary leadership. The tribunal's leadership rejected the move, accusing those involved of illegally taking over its website and describing the action as a "coup."

Nawrocki cut short his trip to Senegal and returned to Poland, where he held an emergency meeting with judicial officials late Friday. Shortly after midnight, he visited the Constitutional Tribunal and entered the court building.

PARIS -- Around 320,000 people took part in a new round of protests across France on Saturday, according to French daily Le Monde which cited figures from the Interior Ministry.

In Paris, the Interior Ministry put the number of demonstrators at 70,000 as of 5 pm local time (1600 GMT).

However, youth unions and associations representing high school and university students put the nationwide turnout at nearly 500,000, including 200,000 in Paris.

The protests disrupted public transport. Paris public transport operator RATP announced on its website that more than 40 metro stations had been closed on Saturday.

Although most demonstrations proceeded peacefully, the dispersal of protesters led to tensions in several cities. In Paris, clashes broke out near Porte de Charenton, the authorized endpoint of the march, with protesters throwing projectiles at police who responded with tear gas, Le Monde reported.

Saturday's protests marked the third round of large-scale demonstrations in France since Oct 17. Around 70,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed nationwide to maintain security during the demonstrations.

The French government has announced 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for university renovations and 4 billion euros in loans for local authorities to upgrade high schools, in a bid to defuse ongoing student protests across the country.

Reactions have been mixed with university student leaders dismissing government ministers as "totally clueless" and vowing to press on with protests that have disrupted the country for a month.

High school student representatives were more receptive but also pledged further demonstrations, reported The Times newspaper.

Earlier this week, France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu met leaders of the high school and university movements, while French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Marseille, where shops were ransacked during looting on Oct 17.

The outgoing president, who must step down next spring, said it was "not normal for the country to be at boiling point six months before a presidential election".

Protests first erupted last month in high schools in eastern Paris suburbs, with students complaining about teacher shortages, crumbling buildings, overcrowded classrooms, and long school days.

Demonstrators also said the education system discriminated against ethnic minority students from poorer neighborhoods.

Unrest then spread to high schools across the country and merged with a separate wave of cost-of-living protests.

In his meeting with school and university union representatives, Lecornu pledged 15,000 additional places in higher education, particularly in vocational courses, and promised reforms to a university admissions system that critics say disadvantages students from working-class areas.

Responding to complaints about overloaded schedules, Lecornu promised that all high school students would be guaranteed at least one hour for lunch.

Around 1 billion euros will be released to renovate about 50 universities by 2031, he said. Regional councils, which oversee high school buildings, would receive loans of up to 4 billion euros to upgrade facilities that students describe as leaky, freezing in winter, and sweltering in summer.

Reforms to the university admissions system would begin next year, with a full replacement by 2028, the prime minister added.

But Manon Moret, general secretary of the National Union of Students of France, said the government was "totally clueless" and pledged further protests and school blockades.

Louis Letoublon, a high school union leader, said: "The government is afraid. We have got something, and we can take advantage of this situation to get more."

Letoublon added that the government had "not satisfied us on everything, and we are going to carry on until they do".

Unions are demanding 10 billion euros to improve the education system, but France's ability to spend is severely constrained while the country carries 3.6 trillion euros in debt and with economists warning the country risks needing a European Central Bank bailout if its annual deficit is not brought under control.

LISBON -- Thousands of people gathered outside Portugal's parliament in Lisbon on Tuesday to protest a police operation to clear housing rights encampments in the early hours of Sunday. Businesses in the surrounding area closed at the request of municipal authorities, as parliament began debating the 2027 state budget.

The Acampada de Lisboa movement joined the demonstration and called for a popular assembly to be held outside parliament.

Municipal police asked nearby businesses to close for the afternoon, a request that most complied with. Several units of the Public Security Police (PSP), including intervention teams, were deployed to the area, along with emergency medical teams from INEM.

The police operation, carried out in the early hours of Sunday, cleared encampments in both Lisbon and Porto following more than two hours of tension and repeated orders for protesters to vacate the squares. The protesters refused to leave, citing their constitutional right to demonstrate.

Dozens of injuries and arrests on charges of disobedience were reported. Hospitals in Lisbon said they had treated 27 people for injuries, more than double the five cases initially reported by police.

Opening the parliamentary debate on the budget, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro defended the police response, saying the PSP had acted proportionately and had been "particularly careful and competent" in restoring public order.

Montenegro said he wanted to address the issue directly before turning to the details of the budget, as the police operation had come to dominate media coverage.

The debate on the 2027 state budget is scheduled to run through Tuesday and Wednesday. Its passage at the first reading is assured, as the main opposition Socialist Party has pledged to abstain.

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

Law enforcement agencies across Europe are braced for more trouble after cost-of-living protests turned violent again on the weekend, leading to more than 1,300 arrests in France, mass unrest in Spain, and turmoil in many other countries.

The latest protests followed several weeks of disquiet across the continent that led to people taking to the streets in opposition to the fast-rising cost of living, underinvestment in schools, a lack of affordable housing, and, in the case of Spain on the weekend, a threatened state pension system. Some protesters have also cited corruption and their opposition to war as reasons for joining demonstrations.

In France, largely peaceful marches ended late on Saturday with confrontations between relatively small groups of protesters and some of the around 70,000 police officers charged with keeping order. Officers fired tear gas and water cannon into the crowds in cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and Bordeaux.

France's Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez told Agence France-Presse the trouble was largely attributable to "several thousand radical activists" who he said had "gathered at the rear of the march, including around 500 individuals identified as rioters".

Jean-Luc Melenchon, who leads the La France Insoumise left-wing political party and who plans to stand in next year's presidential election, complained that French media has focused on the rioters in a bid to discredit the left, while largely ignoring the grievances of peaceful protesters.

He said the riots broke out after the police had created "a setup deliberately designed to provoke chaos".

Public officials said the rioting and looting across France on the weekend was on a smaller scale to unrest the country experienced the previous weekend. But despite that, France's Chambers of Commerce and Industry said the latest disorder had caused "hundreds of millions of euros" in damage.

France's Interior Ministry estimated that 410,000 people took part in protests across the country on Saturday. Trade unions said the number was more like 800,000.

After weeks of such unrest, hundreds of people have already been jailed across the country for acts of vandalism, arson, and looting.

At the same time as the rioting in France, more than 120 people were arrested in Barcelona, Spain at a massive student-led protest. And in the Spanish capital Madrid, protesters took to the streets to demand the linkage of state pensions to the rate of inflation and to oppose the possible privatization of state pensions.

There were also major demonstrations and riots in Albania's capital Tirana, where police used tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters. And there were clashes in Brussels, Belgium and Lisbon, Portugal, where protesters demanded access to affordable housing.

In Milan, Italy hundreds of soldiers helped the police keep order as massive crowds of demonstrators complained about fast-rising fuel prices and the oppressive cost of living.

earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com

PARIS -- A total of 1,314 people were arrested, and 53 law enforcement officers were injured during a new round of protests across France on Saturday, French daily Le Parisien reported on Sunday, citing the Interior Ministry.

In Paris, clashes led police to arrest 142 people, 126 of whom were placed in custody, according to the Paris police prefecture.

Around 410,000 people took part in the protests across France on Saturday, while the Paris police prefecture estimated that 110,000 people had joined the demonstrations in the capital.

On Oct 17, around 550,000 people took part in protests across France. A total of 2,397 people were arrested during the protests, which were marred by violence, according to figures released by the French Interior Ministry.

ROME -- Protests over rising living costs, military expansion and increased arms spending swept across several Italian cities on Saturday, with clashes between demonstrators and police reported in multiple locations, according to Italian media.

In Bologna, clashes broke out between some demonstrators and police on Saturday evening, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. Emergency medical services received 17 calls for assistance, and six people were taken to hospital by ambulance.

In Rome, demonstrators set off from Piazza della Repubblica on Saturday afternoon 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.

In Turin, demonstrators protesting mainly against increased military spending and rising fuel prices clashed with police on Saturday evening. Some protesters threw fireworks and bottles at officers, who responded by firing tear gas.

Following demonstrations that escalated into riots and looting last weekend, particularly in Milan, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi ordered additional police forces to be deployed across the country. The reinforcement was focused particularly on major cities where the largest rallies were expected.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence in a social media post on Saturday evening, stressing the need to protect both peaceful demonstrators and the wider public.

"Everyone's safety must be guaranteed: those who wish to demonstrate peacefully, those who work, and those who want to live in their cities without fear," she said. "We must leave no room for those who seek nothing but confrontation and violence."

LISBON -- Thousands of people marched in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra on Saturday in the latest round of housing rights protests that have now been ongoing for nearly three weeks, as civic movements maintained pressure on the government to adopt emergency measures to address the housing crisis.

In Lisbon, demonstrators gathered along Avenida da Liberdade behind a flatbed truck playing music, with police closing traffic as the crowd swelled.

Banners read "Housing is a right, homes are for living" and "Let through those who want a home to live in."

In Porto, hundreds gathered at Praca da Batalha before marching through the city center toward Praca D. Joao I, the focal point of the movement since it began two weeks ago.

Organizers distributed leaflets explaining the reasons for the protest and a "protester's guide" urging protesters to stay calm and providing guidance on how to act in the event of confrontation with authorities.

The movement is demanding that the government abandon its new rent law and adopt a package of measures including a ban on evictions without alternative housing, a prohibition on real estate fund purchases of residential property, an increase in public housing stock, rent caps and the recovery of vacant properties for housing purposes.

The protests have been marked by two incidents of police intervention. On Oct 15, the Porto encampment reported a pre-dawn police operation that injured 39 participants, two seriously, and one officer.

In Lisbon, authorities dismantled an encampment at Rossio square on Oct 20 and detained 55 protesters, who are due to appear before a judge on Oct 27.