French police clash with protesters as thousands rally over cost of living

Clashes broke out between police and protesters in cities across France on Saturday as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in some of the country’s most violent protests in years over rising costs and declining public services.

Some 272 people had been arrested by mid-afternoon after violent incidents involving hooded individuals, including in Paris, Marseille in the south, Rennes in the northwest, Toulouse in the southwest and Angers in the west, the Interior Ministry said.

“Such actions include attempted looting, confrontations with law enforcement, the setting of fires to street furniture and the targeting of seats of power and media outlets,” it said, blaming the unrest on what it described as the “ultra-left”.