French protests end with less violence, but demonstrations to continue

Protests across France involving hundreds of thousands of people ended with less violence on Saturday, but Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said demonstrations will continue, with new actions planned for next Saturday. Authorities reported between 410,000 and 800,000 participants nationwide, with nearly 1,000 arrests, triple the number from the previous week. Nuñez credited a strong police presence for preventing looting and attacks on public buildings, though he condemned disturbances by far-left militants. The 'yellow vests' movement, barred from protesting today, has called for new demonstrations on October 31, while unions are urging a general strike on November 5. Clashes between far-right and far-left militants were reported for the first time in Nice and Montpellier.