PARIS/LYON: Nationwide demonstrations unfolded largely peacefully in France, despite some clashes with police in Paris and Lyon, on Thursday during a one-day strike by some public sector workers in a renewed challenge to President Emmanuel Macron.

Several high-profile politicians attended the protests, including presidential candidates Jean-Luc Melenchon and Raphael Glucksmann. The protests follow demonstrations over living costs, public services and education that have triggered the worst civil unrest in France in years.

The unrest comes five months before a presidential election that Macron cannot run in, and it puts pressure on Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ahead of his meeting with workers’ and employers’ groups on Monday about the cost of living and salaries. It could pit far-right candidate Marine Le Pen against hard-left rival Melenchon in a second-round run-off.

The Interior Ministry said 575,000 people had participated in protests around the country, while the CGT union, one of the organizers, said 1.6 million ⁠had taken part.

In ⁠Paris, the mood was festive at the start, with a diverse group of participants singing “La Marseillaise” and some carnival-like floats. The one-day strike, which some energy workers and teachers joined, shut the Eiffel Tower, but there were no major disruptions to transport.

However, about two hours in, some of the people at the front of the march clashed with police, who fired tear gas. Paris police said some hooded individuals committed acts of vandalism, which police responded to immediately to stop and isolate them.

Clashes also broke out between some demonstrators and police as the protest wound down, with authorities forced to extinguish at least one small fire on the sidelines of the event.

The Interior Ministry said afterward that 53 police ⁠officers were injured and 448 people were arrested.

WORKERS AND STUDENTS JOIN FORCES TO PRESS FOR CHANGE

In Lyon, riot police fired tear gas and charged a group of protesters, some of whom shouted anti-police slogans. Among the protesters, some dressed in black with their faces covered. The Interior Ministry said the police there had been confronted by several hundred protesters and the violence had been contained although tensions remained high.

“There is a lot of concern about the future, notably the issues of salaries, public services,” said Alice Martinovic, an 18-year-old student participating in the Paris demonstration.

“I hope in the upcoming elections the candidates will really think about this movement and include the opinions of young people, of students, who are now joined by a lot of other workers.”

SCHOOL ABLAZE AFTER FIREWORKS ARE HURLED

The Interior Ministry said people used fireworks to cause a fire at a high school in Toulouse in the southwest on Thursday morning. People threw objects at firefighters there.

“This criminal behavior is an absolute scandal,” Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on X.

Several high schools in the Paris area were damaged, and ⁠one in the city center was ⁠set on fire, regional authorities said.

While the demonstrations in Lyon and other cities, including Marseille and Nantes, began in the morning, the main protest march in Paris set off in the afternoon from Place de la Republique.

Riots on October 17 caught security forces off guard, leaving damaged shops and public buildings across the country and fueling criticism of Macron’s handling of the crisis. French authorities have since issued curfews, banned large gatherings and required demonstrators to march on alternate routes away from main boulevards. Trade unions have decried the moves.

“The government tried to block the demonstrations. The demonstrations are bigger than ever,” Sophie Binet, head of the CGT trade union, told reporters.

“High school students, pensioners, students, workers, all together. Unity wins,” read one banner at the protest in Lyon.

POLICE DEPLOY IN LARGE NUMBERS

“Our pay has not kept up with inflation,” said Mehdi Dumontroty, a 45-year-old firefighter who joined the protest in Paris.

Around 70,000 police were on duty nationwide, comparable to recent weekends. The French government has defended police tactics while saying any abuses would be investigated.

The strike contributed to a reduction in France’s nuclear output early on Thursday, and the Education Ministry said just over 15 percent of French teaching staff had joined the strike.