France: 1,314 Arrested, 53 Officers Hurt as Second Weekend of Protests Turns Violent

French police made 1,314 arrests during nationwide protests on Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Sunday, and 53 officers were hurt. The demonstrations, over the cost of living and the education system, were largely peaceful during the day, Nuñez said, but police later faced a very high level of violence from groups he described as ultra-left. The Interior Ministry put turnout at about 410,000 people in roughly 298 protests, while the General Confederation of Labor union said about 800,000 took part. The ministry said police responded to 75 fires and that 24 shops were broken into and looted at the latest count. Nuñez said the looting was far smaller than a week earlier, when about 3,000 businesses were damaged or looted. He credited faster police action, more checks before marches and better protection of shops and shopping centers. Police seized weapons including metal and lead balls, fireworks, slingshots, a katana and airsoft weapons. The ministry said several investigations were open, without details. It was the second straight weekend of unrest, which began over a month ago with high school protests for more funding and teachers, ahead of May presidential elections to replace Emmanuel Macron.

Breitbart, on the right, leads with the arrests and injuries and calls the people arrested rioters. It describes the movement with a combined Islamist-and-leftist label and ties the unrest to Macron's weakening authority and his successor's election. It highlights fires and looted shops, and in the portion available it omits turnout figures and the comparison with last week. CBS News, on the left, also leads with the 1,314 arrests but gives Nuñez's account of a mostly peaceful day, the smaller scale of damage, the weapons seized and the gap between ministry and union turnout figures. The New York Times frames the aftermath as mixed relief and anxiety, saying police contained vandalism but large crowds and tense politics could fuel more unrest. Both sides agree on the arrest and injury numbers. Alternative or independent outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing; left- and right-leaning outlets had.