French protests draw 1,000 arrests amid heavy security

French police detained about a thousand people during Saturday protests in Paris and other cities, which saw clashes amid unprecedented security measures, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. Nunez reported an "extremely high level of violence" from black-clad far-left extremists, prompting special police units to use tear gas in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes. Two people were seriously injured, and authorities deployed 70,000 security forces nationwide. The demonstrations, organized against the rising cost of living, drew between 410,000 and 800,000 participants according to official and CGT union estimates. The government banned non-union protests, imposed partial curfews, and closed the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay, while public anger grew over perceived restrictions on protest rights.