Source : Perth Now news
French authorities are relieved after mass protests over rising living costs resulted in less violence than previous weekends.
But police expect new demonstrations as high schools at the heart of the movement reopen on Monday after their autumn break.
Germany faced its own challenges after nationwide protests on Saturday ended with rioters attacking police and looting stores in some cities.
Around Europe, hundreds of thousands joined overwhelmingly peaceful marches on Saturday inspired by young people, despite scattered unrest.
In Paris, rioters targeted police with Molotov cocktails at the end of Saturday’s march on the city’s eastern edge, injuring three officers and setting a car ablaze, police said.
Across town, masked groups hurled fireworks at officers at a viewpoint across from the Eiffel Tower, and police charged repeatedly, sending panicked visitors fleeing the area.
Overall, however, the violence was less severe than on October 17, when a city hall was torched and more than 2,000 stores were looted in hours of violence that authorities seemed unprepared to control, or during follow-up protests October 24.
Police arrested 779 people on Saturday, compared with 2,628 on October 17 and 1,314 the previous weekend.
Paris and Marseille police said a handful of shops were targeted but no major damage was reported. About 70,000 police were deployed around the country.
Police are preparing for more tensions as schools reopen Monday, with some groups calling for blockades.
On Thursday, France is facing a general strike on trains and public services and protests by both students and labour unions demanding higher wages and other measures.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is focusing on Thursday’s actions and negotiating with unions – a familiar ballet in French politics – and hoping that the harder-to-control rioting dies down, according to an official close to the president.
The official described Saturday’s protests as “a return to republican order” but acknowledged the situation is “not perfect”.
Meanwhile, more than 100,000 mostly young people protested peacefully across Germany on Saturday, demanding that the government invest more money in education, housing, climate protection and make daily life more affordable. In some cities the protests turned violent at night.
Following a demonstration in Frankfurt, rioters attacked police downtown and looted stores.
More than 100 officers were injured and 54 people – aged 13 to 29 – were detained.
It wasn’t clear how many of the protesters were injured. Police said 17 stores were damaged and five of those were looted. After police cordoned off an area in the city centre, the situation calmed down by early Sunday morning.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt accused “violent left-wing groups and troublemakers from the immigrant community” of hijacking peaceful demonstrations.
“The rioters and looters will be identified and held accountable,” Dobrindt told daily paper Bild on Sunday.
