Arrests and injuries nationwide

Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu put Saturday's toll at 1,200 people arrested across France, with 150 police officers hurt during the day of france demonstrations. The figures, given by the prime minister, mark the scale of the unrest that swept scores of cities.

'Whole streets have been devastated'

In the capital, mayor Emmanuel Gregoire described the damage left behind by the paris protests, telling how whole streets in Paris "have been devastated".

Limoges town hall fire

Away from Paris, the top regional official in Limoges, central France, told AFP that the town hall was "largely lost" to a fire set by masked protesters.

From school protests to nationwide movement

The movement started last month at schools in the poor northern suburbs of Paris, where anger over teacher absences and shabby facilities quickly spread. High school students protesting over the cost of living were joined by other groups angry about high prices, and police fired teargas in clashes with demonstrators. The protests grew into a nationwide movement against inequality, weak public spending and falling standards.

While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully in scores of cities, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, luxury boutiques and supermarkets, and attacked police vehicles and officers.

Interior minister Laurent Nuñez said the official demonstration had been hijacked by casseurs, whom he called "opportunistic delinquents who had seen a chance to pillage and loot". He added that police "will find them and deal with them firmly".

France is recovering from its worst protests in years, which saw buildings attacked and set ablaze across the country, and authorities are waiting to see whether the demonstrations continue another day.