THE NEW YORK TIMES: Hundreds of Thousands March in France Amid Heavy Security

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered across France on Saturday, marching through streets alongside large-scale security forces whom authorities had deployed to prevent a repeat of last weekend, when demonstrations degenerated into arson, looting and other violence.

The marches were largely peaceful until evening, when clashes popped up and police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse some protesters in Marseille and in Paris.

Authorities said about 110,000 people had gathered in Paris, even after organisers were forced to change the location of the demonstration at the last minute.

In Marseille, where looters ravaged a commercial avenue last week, a protest march produced few confrontations with police until it reached the arch where it was supposed to end.

Then clashes broke out between some masked demonstrators who erected barricades and police, who used tear gas on the crowd.

In Orléans, south of Paris, a protest against France’s main far-right party, the National Rally, which is holding its convention in the city, ended peacefully in the afternoon.

Local authorities said 11,000 protesters had gathered, while organisers in the crowd said 26,000 had joined.

There were major discrepancies in crowd estimates nationwide as well, with the Interior Ministry saying there were 410,000 protesters across the country, and the CGT, a labor union that organised Saturday’s marches, putting the figure at 800,000.

As evening fell and some clashes broke out, it underscored the test France faces: whether it can get a grip on the outbreak of urban violence that has shocked the public and thrown the country’s leaders on the defensive.

What began as a student-led protest movement has mutated into something darker — a nationwide cycle of violence that raises basic questions about France’s ability to preserve law and order.

On Oct. 14, police failed to control marauding bands as they shattered shop windows, looted merchandise, incinerated vehicles and besieged public buildings.

But on Saturday, as many as 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, reinforced by elite military troops, armoured vehicles, drones and helicopters, filled streets and the skies in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities.

Several cities, including Le Havre, Toulon and Nice, banned all demonstrations in their downtown areas.

Here’s what to know:

— Economic backdrop: Fears about France’s ballooning government deficit pushed the yield on its 10-year bond to above 5 per cent on Friday for the first time since 2002, raising the prospect of a full-blown financial crisis. The government was spared another blow Friday when ratings agency Moody’s opted to maintain its rating on France’s sovereign debt. It had been widely expected to downgrade the rating.

— Closures: Shops across Paris boarded their windows. The Louvre and other cultural institutions announced they would close Saturday, and the Art Basel fair ended Friday, two days early. A Sunday soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais was postponed.

— Nationwide unrest: The protest movement began with a handful of student demonstrations at high schools in suburban Paris last month. It has since broadened.

— Student protesters: On Friday, President Emmanuel Macron invited representatives of the high school students to his office, the first time he has engaged with them since they began protesting the state of the education system last month.

— Political ramifications: Macron has accused left-wing agitators of hijacking the student movement in a bid to polarise the country before a presidential election in April. The unrest has been a boon for France’s main far-right party, the National Rally, whose presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, leads in most polls. The right has condemned Macron’s response as dilatory and has promised to restore order.