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Almost 1,000 people have been arrested during protests across France, the interior minister says, as clashes erupt after a day of mostly peaceful demonstrations
In Porte de Vincennes, Paris, protesters threw objects towards the police, while barricades were set alight in Marseille and people ripped boards from a shop in Bordeaux
Police fired tear gas in cities including Lyon and Nantes as hundreds of thousands took to the streets across France - 110,000 protesters marched in Paris alone, police say
Tear gas filled my eyes as protest turned ugly, writes our reporter in Paris, showing how violent standoffs mark the end of these bouts of unrest
Today's marches follow last weekend's riots and looting that saw more than 2,700 arrested across France - why are people protesting?
Elsewhere in Europe, protests have also been taking place today in Brussels, Rome and Milan
More now from Nantes, where police say tear gas and water cannon were deployed after protesters attempted to breach a restricted perimeter around an unauthorised gathering.
The Prefecture des Pays de la Loire et de Loire-Atlantique says the measures were taken after they issued "preliminary warnings".
"Please follow the instructions of the authorities on the scene," it adds.
Far-left French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been marching alongside crowds in the centre of Paris.
The politician was seen raising his fist shortly after protests got under way in the French capital.
Demonstrators waved flags, held up signs and shouted into megaphones as the mass protest started to move.
Meanwhile, French riot police have been pictured surrounded by tear gas at a demonstration in Nantes in western France.
In Strasbourg, in eastern France, protesters held up a sign saying "resistance" as they demonstrated.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Katya Adler
Europe editor
European voters are losing faith in traditional or governing political parties to listen to concerns and address them.
The young look at climate change, social inequality, impossible housing prices and AI potentially threatening their place in the job market.
According to opinion polls conducted this year by Pew, 69% of people in France are dissatisfied with democracy. In Spain, it's 68% and in Italy, 62%.
The US is experiencing similar disillusionment, with 69% dissatisfied with how democracy is working.
So many people I've spoken to in France since last Saturday's riots emphasise the clear distinction between angry but peaceful protesters, and those intent on wreaking violent havoc.
Politics aside, is what we're now seeing in Europe's protest wave perhaps a powerful cocktail of a bubbling over of frustration, cries for help for the authorities to listen but also, for some, a dark sense there's little left to lose?
Image source, AFP via Getty Images
Image source, ReutersParis police say "all is calm" in the city, as demonstrations get under way in the French capital.
In a post on X, the prefecture says their forces are "on the ground and in the air, in order to allow the demonstrators to march safely from the Porte d’Italie to the Porte de Vincennes via the boulevards des Maréchaux".
One protest has been permitted in Paris, strictly along one route.
Earlier, police officers ordered people to clear Place de la Bastille and head to Porte d'Italie where the authorised march begins.
Pierre-Antoine Denis
Reporting from Paris
The protest in Paris is now moving and under way.
Thousands of people are starting to walk on the new route given by the authorities.
People we spoke to said they still decided to come here in full force despite the changes.
Many signs and chants are against the police and the government.
There are also many songs against the National Rally party.
Image source, ReutersInterior Minister Laurent Nuñez says that 136 protests were recorded by police on Saturday morning, compared to 264 at the same time last Saturday during mass demonstrations.
Speaking at a press conference, he says that so far 35,000 protesters have been counted, compared to 60,000 at the same time last week.
We're starting to see images of protests under way in parts of France.
In Paris, Lyon and Nantes there are large crowds of people with signs and police on scene.
Image source, ReutersProtesters hold placards during an authorised demonstration organised by labour unions in Paris
Image source, Getty ImagesA demonstration of students this morning in Lyon
Image source, Getty ImagesA large gathering in Nantes, western France
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you're just joining us, we've been bringing you live coverage of the nationwide protests that have resumed in France this weekend.
Demonstrations are taking place in more than 100 locations, with thousands more police officers deployed after some protests descended into violence in previous weeks.
Curfews, closures and protest bans are in place across many parts of the country but some protests have been allowed by authorities in cities such as Lille and Marseille.
Earlier, police in Paris evacuated Place de la Bastille, with protesters and reporters being moved along to Porte d’Italie.
Separately, a protest against the hard-right National Rally is under way in Orléans, the location of the party's two-day conference.
Stick with us as we continue to bring you the latest.
Police have arrested 135 people around protests across France as of 13:00 local time (12:00 BST), announces Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
Nick Beake
Europe correspondent, in Paris
We’re at Porte d’Italie which is the starting point for the rally which is taking place in Paris today.
Graphic designer Louise, aged 38, tells the BBC she is protesting in solidarity with the students but has wider concerns over inequality that she says has grown during President Emmanuel Macron’s decade in power.
"The poor have become poorer and the rich have become richer," she says
She points out her guillotine earrings, the symbol of a fate which could befall anyone despite their wealth or power, Louise says.
"It’s not Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité any more," she tell us. "It’s injustice, inequality and privilege."
When asked whether she fears a repeat of last weekend's violence, Louise says it's possible.
Her main concern, she says, is that images of looting will overshadow the issues she cares most about.
Image source, Getty ImagesAround 550,000 people took part in demonstrations last Saturday to protest rising fuel prices and the cost of living, with frustrations escalating after weeks of student protests.
Marches were initially largely peaceful but became marred by scenes of violence, looting and destruction - including the 19th-Century building housing Lyon's tourism office being set on fire by demonstrators, which the mayor described as "a tragedy".
In the city of Limoges, the clock tower and parts of the roof of the ornate city hall were engulfed in flames before collapsing on Saturday.
At least 2,700 people have been arrested across France since the disorder broke out, with Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin saying on Thursday that 217 had been sent to prison.
Curfews have been imposed in several cities in the aftermath of last weekend's rioting.
Image source, ReutersProtesters hold placards during an authorised demonstration organised by labour unions in Paris on Saturday
According to French broadcaster BFMTV, protests have been permitted by authorities in the following locations:
We've also seen pictures of protesters gathering in the city of Orléans for a demonstration against "racism, fascism, and imperialism" as the French hard-right National Rally party holds its congress in the city.
The yellow vests (gilets jaunes) movement has said more than 700 protests are planned today across the country.
Nick Beake
Europe correspondent, in Paris
The decision announced last night to move the route of the one officially permitted march in Paris came incredibly late.
The city’s police chief will have made the call after assessing intelligence reports.
The priority is to prevent a repeat of last weekend’s chaos - but that is easier said than done. Officers need to try and be as nimble as the most violent, marauding protestors.
Travelling through Paris just now, we have seen convoys of police officers - dressed in black on motorbikes - known as the Brav M squads.
They are highly mobile and were created in 2019 in the wake of the Gilet Jaunes “Yellow Vest” protests.
But they are controversial - accused of using excess force against protesters, a charge they deny.
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockBrav M police officers were also present at last weekend's protests in Paris.
Sarah Rainsford
Southern and Eastern Europe correspondent, reporting from Milan
Image source, ReutersMembers of the military walk by a boarded-up store in Milan on Saturday
Today will be a test of the Italian government’s tough new measures meant to clamp down on violent protest.
After crowds including many teenagers smashed up shops, vandalised cars and looted last weekend, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni moved quickly to increase the potential penalties for such unrest.
“Protesting is a right, tearing apart our cities is not,” she said, announcing that 500 soldiers were being deployed to Milan today to support police.
There's a new crime of violent participation in a protest - throwing firecrackers or stones can get you five years in prison – and young people aged 14 to 18 can now be held criminally responsible.
Police can also detain them preventatively if they suspect they pose a threat.
On top of that is the “break it, and pay” law: smash up a bus stop or a shop, for example, and you can be held liable for the damage. Under 18? Then the bill goes to your parents.
Announcing the measures earlier this week Meloni said her government, which faces an election next year, understands the difficulties many young people face finding work and getting decent pay.
“But hardship cannot be an excuse for violence," she said.
Pierre-Antoine Denis
Reporting from Paris
Image source, ReutersAs we've just reported, Place de la Bastille in Paris has been evacuated by authorities.
We have been told to move by the police, after our last live on the news channel.
Police officers were seen walking along the square.
The announcements from the police changed as we finished, they said "the square is now getting cleared by police officers so we urge to move immediately to Porte d’Italie".
We have duly obliged and are on our way to the new protest location.
La Place de la Bastille is being evacuated by police, say our reporters in Paris.
Police loudspeakers have been repeating the message that any demonstration on the square is banned.
Image source, Prefecture de Police/XPolice in Paris have seized a large amount of "prohibited materials" during checks in the city as it prepares for further protests.
Pictures show a knife, several gas masks, a helmet, an angle grinder, batons and goggles among the items that have been seized.
The prefecture for the French capital says in a post on X they have organised "massive checks to deter those who might come to the capital with bad intentions".
They add that several arrests have been made.
Image source, Prefecture de Police/X
Image source, Getty ImagesHere are some of the key issues at stake:
Education
Students began protesting weeks ago demanding additional investment in their schools, criticising the lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.
One of the leading organisations behind the protests, secondary school student union the Union Syndicale Lycéenne, has stated the protests are necessary to force action.
Cost of living
The education protests subsequently broadened to encompass wider concerns about rising living costs and access to public services.
The "gilets jaunes" (yellow vest) movement - which previously demonstrated against cost-of-living hikes for over a year in 2018 - is also involved, along with a cross-section of trade unions.
But it's not easy for the French government to assuage these concerns, as it has spiralling public debt and faces pressure from investors. It worries that if it cuts public services or welfare, yet more angry people will pour out onto the streets - which is what happened last Saturday.
Vandalism and looting
While most protests have been peaceful, violence has sometimes flared from groups of masked activists and vandals. An estimated 3,000 shops and businesses were looted and destroyed.
Political response
Now, many French people are angry over the government's handling of the crisis. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered to resign, and President Emmanuel Macron has been roundly criticised for a lack of concrete detail on how vandals and rioters will be brought to account.
Image source, ReutersThousands of people from left-wing groups are marching in Orléans, a city about 120km (75 miles) south of Paris where the hard-right National Rally party is holding a conference this weekend.
Large numbers of police officers have been deployed to the city and public transport has been suspended.
National Rally's Marine Le Pen is set to launch her campaign to become France's next president at the two-day conference.
Opinion polls suggest Le Pen could have her strongest chance yet of becoming president as she runs for a fourth time, despite a court finding her guilty of embezzling EU funds earlier this year.
She has denied committing any offence and is appealing the verdict.
Mark Lowen
Reporting from Paris
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockWe’re on Place de la Bastille, where protests had been due to begin - but late last night, the authorities changed the authorised route, to try to push the march out to the ringroad of the city.
Police loudspeakers have been repeating the message here, that any demonstration on this square is banned.
For the moment, police and journalists outnumber demonstrators.
Across Place de la République - the focus of the worst violence in Paris last week - shops have boarded up, taking no chance. Security guards have been stationed outside some hotels.
Parisians are braced for a repeat of last week - but the government, under fire for a hapless response last Saturday - has vowed a ring of steel to quell any potential chaos.