Some 201 people were arrested and 175 police and gendarmes were injured, said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin in a report released at 23:30 p.m.

In the capital, clashes opposed police and groups of activists dressed in black and masked faces, towards the end of the demonstration that linked the Place de la République to that of the Nation.

A Leclerc business was looted, garbage fires lit and street furniture degraded by these demonstrators whose behavior contrasts with that calm and festive, of the mass of the other participants in the procession.

The police charged and fired tear gas grenades to "dislocate" "the block", allow "the intervention of firefighters" and "facilitate the progression of the procession", said the Paris police prefecture.

By 20:30 p.m., calm had returned to the square, where only a few dozen demonstrators remained.

In the early evening, the police headquarters reported 55 arrests.

At least five people were taken care of by emergency services or "street medics", AFP journalists found.

According to the Minister of the Interior, 13,000 police and gendarmes - including 5,500 in Paris - had been mobilized for the 10th day of protest against the pension reform, a device he described as "unprecedented".

In the west of the France where clashes had been particularly violent Thursday, violence and damage were again recorded in Nantes and Rennes despite two parades considered overall calmer.

Clashes between protesters and police, March 28, 2023 in Nantes © Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP

In the prefecture of Loire-Atlantique, a bank branch and a car were set on fire and the administrative court targeted.

At least five protesters were injured in Nantes, according to AFP journalists. The prefecture announced 49 arrests. The mayor of the city Johanna Rolland deplored an "unacceptable vandalism".

Uses of water cannons

In Rennes, many damages were committed in the city center where an insurance agency was ransacked. The police used a water cannon. Six people were arrested.

Same scenario in Lyon where businesses were vandalized and where the prefecture decided on the use of water cannon. Fifteen people were arrested.

In Lille, it was also at the end of the route that incidents broke out between police and some demonstrators. The former used two water cannons and fired tear gas before charging to disperse Lille demonstrators after the procession arrived.

Some protesters responded with bottles being fired at the police, who made at least one arrest. The demonstration had so far been generally peaceful.

Projectile jets, use of tear gas by the police, damage were also recorded in Bordeaux, Calais, Dijon or Caen.

In Strasbourg, a few hundred young demonstrators played cat and mouse with the police, particularly in the student district of Krutenau. Bank windows were smashed, as were at least a dozen bus shelters.

In Besançon, clashes pitted about 150 demonstrators against the police. The prefecture paid "tribute to the union cadres who intervened to prevent" the demonstrators setting fire to the door of the prefecture.

Protesters throw stones at police officers on March 28, 2023 in Toulouse © Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP

In Nancy, police fired tear gas at protesters on Place Stanislas, the city's main esplanade.

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© 2023 AFP