France protests draw 320,000 as police make hundreds of arrests
What's next: France is bracing for a general strike after a third weekend of youth-led marches over living costs and schools.
Hundreds of thousands of mostly young demonstrators marched across France on Saturday in a third straight weekend of protests over living costs, deteriorating schools and public services, with clashes at the end of the Paris rally. The French government put nationwide turnout at 320,000, including about 70,000 in Paris, and deployed 70,000 police and gendarmes. Arrest totals varied by reporting time, with authorities citing roughly 290 to more than 560 nationwide. Marches in Paris were pushed to the edge of the city after earlier protests devolved into rioting and looting. Related youth-led demonstrations were also reported in Germany, Italy and Portugal.