French police officers face protesters as clashes erupt in Montpellier. (EPA Images pic)PARIS: Clashes broke out Saturday in Paris and other French cities amid demonstrations held a week after others that degenerated into street violence and prompted a robust security backlash as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to restore order.
Police arrested nearly 1,000 people as officers were confronted with "an extremely elevated level of violence" from black-clad "ultra-left" extremists, interior minister Laurent Nunez said.
Riot police squads fired tear gas at protesters in the capital as well as in Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes.
Two people were "seriously" injured, Nunez said: one man in Toulouse, who reportedly had fingers blown off, and another person in Clermont-Ferrand. He did not give details of either case.
