A president among looted shopfronts

President Emmanuel Macron carried his pledge on the Macron student protests to Marseille on Monday, visiting the damaged city hall of France's second-largest city and meeting shopkeepers who had been looted and vandalised, according to the presidential palace. Hours before his arrival, many shopfronts in the city centre were still boarded up.

An aide said the visit was meant to show 'the state is present, standing firm and fulfilling its mission to protect'.

Lecornu to unveil measures after union talks

Speaking to reporters in Marseille, Macron said he had asked the government to respond to the movement's legitimate demands, and that 'concrete and strong' measures would be announced. He warned, though, that more unrest could come.

The response is to be laid out by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who met high school student unions in Paris before holding a news conference later on Monday.

• •Lecornu was joined for the talks by National Education Minister Édouard Geffray and Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste.
• •The two ministers were also to appear at the news conference afterwards.
• •Last Friday, Macron met secondary school pupil representatives, who emerged urging students to keep protesting until the government put forward concrete proposals.

The weekend in numbers

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told BFMTV that Saturday's rallies had gone more 'positive' than a week earlier, though street violence still erupted in Paris and other cities including Marseille.

• •A total of 1,435 people were arrested on the sidelines of the most recent weekend protests.
• •267 police officers and gendarmes were injured, along with 150 protesters.
• •Three protesters were seriously hurt, in Toulouse, Reims and Clermont-Ferrand.

Nunez said the day had been brought under control with no serious incidents, but added: 'Nevertheless, we saw a very high level of violence directed at the internal security forces.'

Macron, during his Marseille visit, repeated Nunez's earlier statement on Monday that more protests are expected next Saturday.

How the movement began

Weeks of demonstrations over the rising cost of living were marred by violence, with nationwide demonstrations on October 17 degenerating into some of the country's worst rioting in years. The unrest followed weeks of student demonstrations for better learning conditions, including school blockades, in which several teenage protesters were seriously injured and thousands arrested.

A police response criticised as heavy-handed sparked a broader movement against the cost of living and police violence, and authorities admitted security and intelligence failures had paved the way for the October 17 clashes, looting and vandalism. Security was stepped up for Saturday's protests.

The turmoil comes six months ahead of a presidential election to replace Macron. Far-right frontrunner Marine Le Pen held an election rally in Orleans on Sunday, a day after further demonstrations with violent clashes on the sidelines, vowing to 'restore the rule of law' if elected next year. Polls show the protests have boosted her support.