At least 1,300 people arrested in mass weekend protests across France
At least 1,300 people were arrested on the sidelines of Saturday's protests across France and at least 50 officers and three protesters were hurt, the interior ministry said Sunday. The arrests occurred as clashes broke out on the margins of largely calm demonstrations in major cities over the high cost of living.
"Several investigations have been opened," it said in a statement, without giving details. It said that the rest of Saturday night, after the clashes had died down, was "calm".
The ministry statement on Sunday did not say how many protesters were hurt.
Late Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez spoke of two serious injuries among protesters: one in Toulouse and one in Clermont-Ferrand.
Protesters hurt
The prefecture covering Clermont-Ferrand said a man there also had a hand hurt, but did not suffer the loss of any fingers.
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A French regional daily, La Nouvelle République, reported that a man in Poitiers was hurt in his left eye, showing a photo of a man holding his face.
There have been several instances in recent weeks, during student protests in France, of people being maimed by police stun grenades or tear gas grenades.
It was not known if the injuries reported from Saturday were from those police weapons. Officials said investigations had been opened in at least some of the cases.
