Police fire tear gas and arrest dozens as France sees more protests

Clashes broke out in Paris late Saturday after demonstrations over the high cost of living and the country's education system earlier in the day remained largely peaceful.

The French Interior Ministry said about 410,000 people participated in protests around the country. Union organizers from the General Confederation of Labor put the number at around 800,000.  An explanation for the discrepancy was not immediately available. 

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Saturday that 135 people have been arrested and a variety of weapons have been seized. The items confiscated include metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana and airsoft weapons, he said. Nuñez added that, so far, "there has been no major incident" in the country. 

Some confrontations were reported between authorities and demonstrators in several cities, but as of Saturday evening there had been no repeat of the major street violence and rioting that erupted amid similar protests last week. About 3,000 shops were looted or damaged last weekend, CBS News previously reported. 

Nuñez previously said that French authorities were preparing to maintain order this weekend by maintaining up to 70,000 officers nationwide along with assets including helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. 

Clashes break out in Paris after largely peaceful march 

Paris had prepared for unrest, with shops boarded up and events including those related to the NFL's first French football game canceled, but authorities described the atmosphere in the city as "calm." 

Thousands gathered at the Port d'Italie on the city's southeastern rim for an authorized demonstration. The march had originally been set for the Bastille, near the city's center, and was changed to the more remote Porte d'Italie at the last minute. Union representative Murielle Guilbert told reporters that it was "scandalous" that Macron had forbidden protesters from demonstrating "where we wish to demonstrate," but participants complied with the change. 

The front of the march ended without incident. Some chanted "We are not happy" as they peeled away from the Porte de Vincennes. Police said 110,000 people participated in the event, while union members put the number at 250,000. 

As the evening went on, clashes were reported between police and demonstrators, the Agence France-Presse reported. Police used batons and tear gas, and officials said a water cannon was also used. Some protesters threw projectiles at police. 

The Paris prosecutor's office said 64 people, including six minors, were arrested and 40 were placed in police custody. Most arrests concerned suspected weapons offenses or participation in a group preparing violence or property damage, the office said. More than 3,000 were stopped and checked by officers, police said. 

Protesters march against far-right gathering  

In Orleans, thousands of people marched against a congress held by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party. Le Pen is launching her campaign to succeed Emmanuel Macron as France's president. Elections will be held in six months, and surveys show Le Pen is best-placed to win. Demonstrators in Orleans protested both Macron and Le Pen. 

"Macron resign. Le Pen in prison," the crowd yelled, according to the AFP. Police put their numbers at 11,000, while organizers said 26,000 took part. About 50 organizations, including labor unions, left-wing parties and student groups, had called for a protest against Le Pen's nationalist, anti-immigration party.

Some placards seen at the march referenced a shooting in Trappes, a Paris suburb, that left one person dead and several others injured across several locations. Macron called the rampage a "racist terror attack." Prosecutors are investigating the shooting as a terrorist incident. 

French media reported that the protest against the congress ended peacefully early Saturday afternoon. The gathering is expected to continue through Sunday. 

Protesters and police clash in smaller cities   

Demonstrations had been banned in the southeast city of Lyon, but about 150 protesters near the city's center briefly tried to block a road. Police fired tear gas to disperse the group. Tear gas was also used to break up a group of around 1,000 people gathered in the south of the city. 

A police helicopter was seen flying over the city, and security forces, armored vehicles and riot police vans were patrolling. A 21-year-old student, who spoke to the Agence France-Presse on the condition of anonymity, described authorities as "really mobile." 

In the western city of Nantes, thousands of protesters broke through police lines to enter the city center, the AFP reported. Officers used tear gas and a water cannon to try and disperse them. Some on the fringes of the demonstration threw projectiles and aimed fireworks at officers. 

Tear gas was also deployed in Clermont-Ferrand and Strasbourg, police said. Water cannons were used in Nice, where demonstrations had also been banned. 

Police said about 17,000 attended an event in Marseille. Officers fired tear gas during clashes with several dozen people near the march's endpoint. 

Organizers call for Halloween demonstrations 

One group of protesters, the Yellow Vests, said they would hold another round of protests on Oct. 31. The Yellow Vests emerged about eight years ago as a loosely organized group that staged disruptive protests against Macron. 

Organizers called for rallies and a sit-in outside parliament and city halls nationwide, condemning the "authoritarian drift" of Macron's government and urging citizens to stand up for "public freedoms." 

The demonstrations have been ongoing since September, when high school students in the southeast of Paris protested for better conditions. The unrest quickly spread across the country as people took to the streets to demand relief from rising living costs.

More protests spread across Europe 

Other protests are expected across Europe on Saturday, encompassing a broad range of issues including pensions, housing costs, anti-war movements, education and corruption. 

Italy deployed soldiers to Milan, the nation's fashion and finance capital, as the city braced for fresh demonstrations one week after looting and police clashes. Many stores were boarded up with wooden planks on Saturday. Premier Giorgia Meloni announced a raft of measures, including sending an additional 500 soldiers to Milan and tougher penalties for minors, who police said made up a large part of the violent protesters.

In Rome, authorities locked down luxury shopping streets and stepped up patrols around key sites. Several hundred students demonstrated peacefully in the historic city. Organizers of peaceful events sought to distance themselves from potential unrest, urging participants to keep their faces uncovered and their hands visible. 

In Albania's capital of Tirana, riot police used water cannons to subdue large groups of protesters. Some of the demonstrators threw projectiles at police, the AP reported. A separate protest organized by the opposition outside the office of Prime Minister Edi Rama turned violent earlier Saturday, with some activists lighting fires on the street. The demonstrators are mainly high school and university students, demanding lower tuition fees, greater state investment in education and protesting corruption in the education system. A broader anti-government movement is calling for Rama's resignation.

In Spain, thousands of retirees and others marched through central Madrid to demand that public pensions aren't meddled with. 

Protesters in Lisbon, Portugal, are expected to march across the city Saturday to demand affordable housing.