Hundreds of thousands march across France as clashes follow protests

Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France on Saturday in largely peaceful protests over living costs, school conditions and government policies, followed by clashes in several cities and nearly 1,000 arrests, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. The Interior Ministry estimated that 410,000 people took part nationwide, while the CGT union put attendance at about 800,000. In Paris, the ministry counted about 110,000 marchers; the union’s estimate was 250,000. The figures reflect competing estimates from authorities and organizers. Authorities deployed about 70,000 police officers and security personnel across the country. The demonstrations came a week after protests that ended in widespread looting and violence, with more than 2,700 arrests, and officials imposed restrictions in several cities to reduce the risk of further disorder. Most marches on Saturday remained peaceful, Nuñez said. He reported nearly 1,000 arrests, compared with 385 at the same point the previous week, and said some businesses were damaged or looted on a far smaller scale than during the earlier unrest. The arrest total was a figure reported by the minister, not a final count confirmed across...