Situation turns tense in Paris and Marseille as government estimates 410,000 to have taken part in protests across France.

Police and elite security forces are out in force in French cities as tens of thousands participate in a new round of protests. The situation is slowing turning tense in some cities like Paris and Marseille.

Protesters are out in the streets once again after demonstrations last week spiraled into chaos, with looters and rioters having joined in. The French government said 410,000 protesters took part in protests across the country. Clashes have broken out between protesters and police in cities like Paris, Marseille and Lyon. French police deployed more than 70,000 police and elite security forces across France to contain unrest.

The French interior ministry said it estimates 410,000 people to have taken part in protest throughout France today. Demonstrations were set to take place in Paris and Marseille but protesters took to the streets in other cities for rallies like Lyon and Nantes. There were reports about clashes between protesters and police in several cities, including Paris. There were protests in the city of Lyon, in the east-central part of France, where police used tear gas to disperse protesters wearing masks. There are also reports about clashes in Marseille, where police fired tear gas to disperse crowds. About 550,000 people attended demonstrations throughout the country last weekend.

The mood over the past few days in France felt almost a bit apocalyptic. Business owners told me they were worried more looting might lie ahead, after gangs of individuals had ransacked and destroyed at least 3,000 shops across the country last weekend. "Some of us are planning to buy weapons to defend ourselves, in case the pillagers come back. One day, there's going to be a tragedy — for sure," Jonathan Siad, owner of a tobacco shop in Paris, said to me. Other store owners were too afraid to talk to us in front of the camera – they worried criminals might see the interview and target their shop. Residents told me they would try to avoid the area where the demonstration was taking place. Only to add that they hoped the situation wouldn't escalate like last week, when even places far away from the actual marches became hotspots of clashes between the police and protesters. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had admitted on Monday a "loss of control" last Saturday. The authorities thus increased the number of police deployed across France by 10,000 to 70,000 this Saturday. First clashes between protesters and the police started to occur in the late afternoon in several cities across France such as Marseille, Lyon and Paris. But for now, the much feared mass looting and ransacking doesn't seem to be happening. The situation is nowhere near the total chaos Paris and other cities like Marseille experienced last Saturday. "Last weekend, our neighborhood resembled a war zone with gangs roaming the area. Today, it's completely empty apart from police with their vans," Yassaman Metghalchi, co-owner of a jewelry shop in the city center of Paris that got looted last Saturday, told me. "All of our neighbors feel reassured – although the night is still young and we need to wait and see what will happen," she added.

Paris police say 110,000 protesters were on the streets in the city on Saturday. The anti-government "Yellow Vest" movement teamed up with aggrieved school students for this round of demonstrations. The CGT trade union, meanwhile, said 800,000 participated in protests across France, with 250,000 people taking part in Paris. Saturday's protesters were limited by Parisian authorities to the city's southeastern edge, away from the center. Authorities prepared to help the protesters march safely from the Place d'Italie in the 13th arrondissement on the left bank of the Seine River to Porte de Vincennes which lies further away on the right bank.

The French police used tear gas in response to protests in the southeastern city of Lyon. Use of tear gas was also reported in the cities of Lille, Toulouse and Nantes.

In Orleans, south of Paris, protesters also came out to the streets against a two-day congress held in the city of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party. According to polls, Le Pen is the frontrunner in France's presidential elections next year.

France's Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez said that police had arrested 135 people and seized a variety of weapons as they deployed for nationwide demonstrations. Nunez said police have been given orders to prevent renewed street violence. He said weapons confiscated included metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana and airsoft weapons. He went on to say that, so far, "there has been no major incident."

France's Yellow Vest movement, one of the key groups behind recent protests against the high cost of living, on Saturday called for new demonstrations on October 31. Organizers from the largely rural-based group said in Paris that they wanted fresh rallies and a sit-in outside parliament, as well as outside city halls nationwide, to be held in protest at what it called the "authoritarian drift" of President Emmanuel Macron. Next Saturday, "we will protest for the freedom to protest, and for all our freedoms," a coordinator from the group told journalists at Paris's Bastille square.

As the unrest in France spills over to its European neighbors, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has ordered 500 additional soldiers to be sent to Milan to join hundreds already stationed there as the northern city braces for more protests. They will support some 5,000 police and other law enforcement personnel present in Milan in a bid to prevent the looting and violence seen at protests last week. Security is also high in Rome, with luxury shopping streets locked down and stepped-up controls around the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo ahead of planned demonstrations. Aside from Rome and Milan, demonstrations have been called in at least seven other cities. Albania, Spain and Portugal are also seeing waves of protests.

Tourists out to see the sights in Paris on Saturday might be in for quite a few disappointments, with several key sites closed amid security fears. The Louvre, the Orsay Museum and the Picasso Museum are all to remain closed for the day, as is the Grand Palais. The contemporary art fair Art Basel Paris, which opened to the public of Friday, closed its doors the day after, with the entire weekend program canceled. The famous Arc de Triomphe is also closed to visitors, while the Champs Elysee, which leads to it, is under access restrictions.

Police have used teargas grenades to disperse a small protest in an area banned to all demonstrations in the southeastern city of Lyon, according to a journalist from the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP). The group was protesting near a university faculty and the city's police station.

Many store owners across France have taken their own precautionary measures to protect their premises against vandalism despite a high police presence meant to guarantee security. Several glitzy facades of prestigious shops in the capital, Paris, have now disappeared behind boards.

With some 70,000 police officers to be deployed on Saturday, many people in France are fearing repeat violence not just from certain groups of protesters but also from the forces of law and order. During recent student protests, a number of teenagers sustained serious injuries amid police actions, and multiple unconfirmed videos have shown incidents of brutality toward protesters at last week's wider demonstrations. Rights group Amnesty International has described the police response to the current protests as "disproportionate" and called upon French authorities to "act upon their human rights obligations."