[Anchor]
Another massive protest involving hundreds of thousands of people took place in France over the weekend. While it was less violent than the previous demonstrations that saw arson and looting, clashes still broke out in various locations.
Paris correspondent Kwon Yeongin reports.
[Reporter]
Bastille Square in Paris, where a rally was scheduled for last weekend.
Although labor unions filed an appeal with a court against the police's decision to ban the protest, the court ultimately dismissed it about two hours before the rally was set to begin.
[Paris Police: Demonstrations are not permitted here.]
The organizers hastily changed the rally location to an area on the outskirts of Paris authorized by the authorities.
Even with the sudden change of venue, tens of thousands of participants flocked to the site.
Police estimated that 110,000 people gathered in Paris alone, with 410,000 nationwide, while organizers put the turnout at 800,000.
Participants of all ages, genders, and races marched peacefully through the streets of Paris for three hours.
[Nico / Protester: People want to take part in protests. They want to go wherever they can and protest. People ultimately have no choice but to come out to the streets. Whether here or elsewhere, people will come out to the streets anyway.]
However, the atmosphere changed abruptly as about 500 radical protesters waiting near the destination joined the procession.
Tear gas and water cannons were deployed, and injuries were reported.
After a standoff lasting just over two hours, the crowd dispersed without major damage, but in some cities like Marseille, protesters put up fierce resistance by burning trash cans, and looting of shops occurred once again.
Police stated that they arrested 1,314 protesters on the spot nationwide over the weekend.
[Laurent Nunez / French Interior Minister: It is regrettable that shops were damaged or looted in some cities. However, the number was very small and incomparable to last week.]
Although looting and violence decreased compared to the protests on October 17, the government's school education improvement plans and other settlement measures set to be unveiled today, October 26, are expected to be a major variable in the future trajectory of the protests.
(Video reporting: Kim Si-nae, Video editing: Kim Byung-jik)
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