Emmanuel Macron has blamed social media for helping fuel weeks of protests and rioting across France.
Speaking on Monday, the French president said social media was “damaging our democracies” as his government struggled to contain violence and looting in cities across the country.
During a visit to Marseille, Mr Macron said social media had been used particularly during the unrest on October 17 “to bring young and not-so-young people to places where criminal acts, attacks and looting were taking place”.
He described the platforms as “tools for mobilising the worst impulses” and warned that another wave of demonstrations this weekend could prove “risky”.
The president said “next Saturday is expected to be another risky day”, while assuring the public that protest routes would stay outside city centres in an effort to protect public order.
Mr Macron also admitted that authorities had “not anticipated at all” the scale of the demonstrations held a week earlier.
His remarks in Marseille came after rioters briefly forced their way into the city hall on October 17.
Alongside Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Mr Macron met students calling for improved school conditions as the government attempted to draw a line under weeks of violence and looting.
Emmanuel Macron meets French police officers during his visit to Marseille on Monday
A protester kicks away a tear gas canister as police move to disperse crowds in Paris
Demonstrators clash with police near Porte de Vincennes during a protest amid continuing social and political tensions in Paris
France has been shaken by widespread anger over the rising cost of living, with nationwide demonstrations on October 17 descending into some of the country’s worst rioting in years.
The protests have erupted at a pivotal moment for France, coming six months before a presidential election to choose a successor to centrist Mr Macron.
Marine le Pen, the front-runner, held an election rally in Orleans on Sunday, one day after further demonstrations were marred by violent clashes on the sidelines. She pledged to “restore the rule of law” if elected next year.
Polling suggests the protests and disorder that followed have strengthened her support, while the government and Mr Macron have faced mounting criticism over their handling of the unrest.
Authorities have acknowledged security and intelligence failures that contributed to the clashes, widespread looting and vandalism of public property on October 17. Security was subsequently increased ahead of Saturday’s protests.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Saturday’s rallies produced a more “positive” outcome than those held a week earlier. However, street violence still broke out in Paris and several other cities, including Marseille.
The Elysee Palace said Mr Macron would visit Marseille’s city hall on Monday. The building, in France’s second-largest city, was damaged during the protest violence on October 17.
He was also scheduled to meet shopkeepers who had been targeted by looting and vandalism, according to the Elysee.
A fire burns in Toulouse as protests against the government turn violent on Saturday evening
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Hamas commander Hatem Alramery who oversaw rocket launches blown up by Israeli warplane as terrorists reject ceasefire – NewsFinale
A protester throws a bottle towards police officers in Toulouse on Saturday
Armed police officers held their shields close to their bodies as they confronted protesters in Paris on Saturday
A French Republican Security Corps officer confronts a protester on the ground in Marseille on Saturday afternoon
Masked gangs of thugs and hard-Left agitators attacked police and set light to cars in the French capital on Saturday night
Demonstrators clashed with police near Porte de Vincennes as peaceful protest turned violent on Saturday night
‘He will also pay tribute to and thank the internal security forces that helped restore republican order,’ the presidency said.
After this weekend’s protests, many shopfronts in the city centre were still boarded up early Monday, just hours before Mr Macron’s arrival.
Mr Macron’s visit was intended to demonstrate that ‘the state is present, standing firm and fulfilling its mission to protect,’ an aide said.
A total of 1,435 people were arrested on the sidelines of the most recent weekend protests, Mr Nunez said on Monday.
‘The day was brought under control and there were no serious incidents,’ he told broadcaster BFMTV.
‘Nevertheless, we saw a very high level of violence directed at the internal security forces.’
Mr Nunez said 267 police officers and gendarmes and 150 protesters were injured, including three who were seriously hurt in Toulouse, Reims and Clermont-Ferrand.
The unrest followed weeks of demonstrations by students campaigning for better learning conditions.
Several teenage protesters have been seriously injured and thousands arrested.
The police response to their demonstrations, which included blockades of schools, has been criticised as heavy-handed and sparked a broader movement against the cost of living and police violence.
In Paris on Monday, Mr Lecornu was to meet student leaders, with National Education Minister Edouard Geffray and Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste joining him for the talks.
Following that meeting, Mr Geffray and Mr Baptiste will hold a news conference.
Mr Macron already met representatives of secondary school pupils last Friday, but they emerged from the talks urging students to keep protesting until the government put forward concrete proposals to address their demands.
On top of the protests, the country was last week shaken by a shooting that killed one person and wounded five, including a 12-year-old girl, outside Paris.
Mr Macron has branded the shooting a ‘racist terrorist attack’, as most of the victims were from foreign backgrounds.