French police fire tear gas as protests resume nationwide

French police fired tear gas in Lyon on Saturday as nationwide protests over the cost of living resumed, with 70,000 security personnel deployed to prevent a repeat of last week's rioting that saw 2,700 arrests and hundreds of millions in damages. Demonstrations occurred across cities amid bans in some areas, with shops boarded up and museums closed in Paris. The protests stem from student grievances over learning conditions that expanded into broader anger over inflation, which has surged due to the West Asia war. Adding to tensions, Marine Le Pen's National Rally held a congress in Orleans, drawing 11,000 to 26,000 counter-protesters. Authorities have jailed 217 people from last week's violence, while rights groups criticized protest restrictions as authoritarian.