Nearly 1,000 people were arrested Saturday as nationwide protests resumed, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters.
Earlier, police carried out preventive searches and detained people suspected of possessing potential weapons, including fireworks and ball bearings, Reuters reported.
Nuñez did not say where the arrests took place.
In Paris, police estimated that 110,000 people joined the march. Officers conducted more than 3,000 checks and arrested 65 people, the BBC reported.
The French Interior Ministry estimated nationwide turnout at about 410,000, while union organizers put the figure at 800,000. In Paris, unions estimated that 250,000 people attended, compared with the police estimate of 110,000, according to CBS News.
Thousands of protesters march through the streets of Paris on Saturday. (Thibault Camus/AP Photo)
“Violent individuals have no place in the marches,” the Paris Police Department said in a social media post. “The objective is clear: to prevent troublemakers from joining the procession and to ensure the safety of demonstrators.”
Central Paris took on the appearance of a city under lockdown. Shopkeepers boarded up storefronts, museums shut their doors and more than 20 metro stations suspended service.
Police in other cities, including Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille and Nice, used tear gas to disperse unruly crowds, Reuters reported.
In Nice, officers also deployed a water cannon against demonstrators who refused to move back. Clashes were reported between police and hooded youths in Marseille and Lyon.
A protester carrying a French flag and a sign moves through tear gas during a protest in Lyon, France, on Saturday. (Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo)
About 70,000 police officers were deployed across France to curb unrest and prevent a repeat of the violence seen during recent demonstrations, when cars were set on fire and Limoges’ city hall was torched.
More than 2,700 people were arrested last weekend after protests escalated into riots and looting.
The nationwide marches reflected widespread dissatisfaction with the French government, as protesters took to the streets over a range of grievances.
Police officers detain protesters during a demonstration in Strasbourg, France, on Saturday. (Jean-Francois Badias/AP Photo)
The protests began several weeks earlier, led by high school and university students angered by teacher shortages and deteriorating school conditions, including overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings.
The movement expanded after major labor unions joined, adding opposition to the government’s austerity policies and concerns about wages, pensions and the rising cost of living.