Protests in France over school funding and living costs end in clashes, tear gas and nearly 1,000 arrests

Around 400,000 people joined protests across France on Saturday over school funding and living costs, the Interior Ministry estimated, and nearly 1,000 people were arrested as police used tear gas and water cannons. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said up to 70,000 officers would be deployed nationwide, backed by helicopters and armored vehicles, for a second consecutive weekend. A largely peaceful day turned to unrest in Paris after nightfall, with protesters throwing objects and fireworks at police. Police fired tear gas in Lyon, where the rally had been banned, and in Clermont-Ferrand, where French media reported tear gas and stun grenades were used. The Paris march was confined to the city's southeastern edge. Several thousand people, led by trade unions, set off from Porte d'Italie, a smaller crowd than a week earlier. Thousands also marched peacefully in Orléans against the far right as Marine Le Pen's National Rally held a two-day congress. The movement began last month over staff shortages at one high school southeast of Paris. It has grown nationally and brought anger over living standards into the final months of President Emmanuel Macron's presidency.

NBC News, on the left, leads with students and workers marching over school funding and living costs. Its headline frames the protests as a challenge to Macron. It gives local detail on Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and the Paris route, quotes Nuñez on the deployment, and traces the movement to one high school. In the text available it gives no turnout total or arrest count. Newsmax, on the right, leads with the 400,000 figure, attributed to the French government, in a headline saying France "erupts again" with protesters "flooding" streets. Its excerpt stresses clashes, tear gas and projectiles and does not mention school funding, living costs or Macron. Both sides report tear gas and confrontations with police. The difference is emphasis: NBC highlights causes and politics, Newsmax highlights scale and disorder. BBC adds the nearly 1,000 arrests and a correspondent's view that the unrest may not ease soon.