Tear gas was fired at demonstrators and more than 100 people were arrested across France, as the authorities attempted to prevent a repeat of the riots and looting that rocked the country last weekend.
asserted
that → fire → country
Interior minister Laurent Nunez said 135 people had been arrested nationwide by early afternoon, with around 70,000 police officers deployed.
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officers → say → afternoon
Officers used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Lyon and Nantes, while in Paris, luxury shops boarded up windows and added guards.
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shops → use → guards
Some of the capital city’s top tourist attractions and metro stations closed before the protests.
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Some → close → protests
Some shopkeepers have begun arming themselves with baseball bats, crowbars and shotguns to protect their businesses.
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shopkeepers → begin → businesses
Clashes were reported between protesters and police in Marseille.
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Clashes → report → Marseille
French president Emmanuel Macron met with high school unions yesterday in an 11th hour attempt to quell unrest anticipated over the weekend.
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Macron → meet → weekend
However, student leaders emerged from the talks dissatisfied, urging pupils to continue protesting until the government presented concrete proposals to address their demands.
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government → emerge → demands
The demonstrations, which began over deteriorating conditions in schools, have spread across France, fuelled by wider anger over rising living costs and strained public services.
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which → begin → costs
Hundreds of thousands of protesters march in France
French media report varying estimates of the number of people marching across the country today.
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media → march → country
CGT, one of the largest trade unions, said that nearly 800,000 people had mobilised in France, according to newspaper Le Monde.
uncertain
people → say → Monde
But the French Ministry of Interior put the number at 410,000 people.
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Ministry → put → people
In Paris, CGT counted 250,000 demonstrators on the streets, while the Ministry of Interior said there were 110,000.
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Ministry → count → Interior
In full: Louvre shuts down over fears of violence in Paris
The Louvre is closed on Saturday, along with several other major Paris museums, because of concerns about potential violence during planned protests, France's culture ministry says.
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ministry → shut → protests
The Orsay and Picasso museums are also among those that are closed, the ministry said.
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ministry → close → those
The ministry called on all institutions under its authority to adopt any necessary measures to ensure “visitor safety, staff protection and the preservation of artworks”.
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ministry → call → artworks
Clashes reported in Marseille
Clashes between protesters and police have been reported in Marseille near an arch where a planned demonstration was scheduled to conclude.
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demonstration → report → arch
Young men, many with covered faces, had dragged large streets of metal into the street as barricades, according to The New York Times.
uncertain
men → drag → Times
Others threw rocks and bottles at riot police, and officers fired volleys of tear gas at protesters.
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officers → throw → protesters
Mona Lisa off limits as Paris shuts museums over protest fears
Disappointed tourists poked their heads through the Louvre's locked gates on Saturday, shut off from the Mona Lisa as galleries and museums across Paris closed as a precaution ahead of fresh demonstrations.
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galleries → shut → demonstrations
"When we came, we thought there could be a problem but not that the museum would be closed," Italian social educator Selena Bertoni, 31, said in front of the Musée d'Orsay.
uncertain
Bertoni → come → d'Orsay
On a four-day trip to Paris she had paid €50 for two tickets to see its Impressionist paintings and other masterpieces.
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she → pay → paintings
"Bad timing," she said, with a shrug.
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she → say → shrug
The closures came one week after nationwide demonstrations over the cost of living and deteriorating public services descended into some of the worst street violence that France has seen in years.
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France → come → years
The violence and damage prompted the government to impose localised curfews and close many public venues ahead of demonstrations planned on Saturday.
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violence → prompt → Saturday
The shutdown extended across much of the capital's cultural sector, including the Orangerie, Jeu de Paume and Picasso museums, while the entire Tuileries Gardens complex that leads out of the Louvre was sealed off.
"This is the third museum we have come to that is closed.
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that → extend → Louvre
They should've warned us," French visitor Heidi Rosar, 21, said.
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Rosar → warn → us
At the Louvre, the locked black iron gates blocked access to the entire site and the garden.
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gates → lock → site
"We wanted to at least see the pyramid," 67-year-old Canadian Don Nowschuk said, referring to the museum's landmark glass entrance.
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Nowschuk → want → entrance
On a two-night stay in the City of Light, Nowschuk suggested the local authorities might be overreacting.
uncertain
authorities → suggest → Light
"There is so much security that you would think it would be enough to secure the museum," he said.
"
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he → be → museum
It's a bit weird to see so many cops with guns around Paris.
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It → see → Paris
The disruption extended to the performing arts sector.
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disruption → extend → sector
The Paris Opera shuttered both the Palais Garnier and the Opéra Bastille, citing safety concerns for staff and audiences.
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Opera → shutter → staff
Organisers of `the prestigious Art Basel Paris fair also cancelled its weekend programme.
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Organisers → cancel → programme
The cultural centres posted warnings about the closures on Friday, but some people never thought to check.
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people → post → Friday
"How could we have known?
uncertain
we → know → ?
We didn't think a museum could be closed.
uncertain
museum → think → ?
We are a bit naive," 59-year-old French woman Catherine Sebbagh said.
asserted
Sebbagh → say → ?
Watch: Protests take place across France as country braces for riots
What sparked the fiery protests in France – and how they are spreading across Europe
Click below for everything you need to know about the nationwide movement:
Demonstrators accuse French government of overreacting
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Demonstrators → watch → government
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
