Protests held across France against the worsening cost of living crisis and increasing inequality turned into violent clashes for the second consecutive weekend, although most of the demonstrations began peacefully.

The French Ministry of the Interior stated that a total of 410,000 people participated in the protests in several major cities, including Paris.

Last weekend, rioters set fire to the historic town hall in Limoges, while looters destroyed supermarkets and luxury boutiques in Lyon. Following these incidents, French authorities significantly enhanced security measures ahead of protest activities on Saturday.

According to a security official quoted by Reuters, on Saturday in Paris, riot police fired tear gas and used high-pressure water cannons to disperse about 500 masked youths who were throwing stones at the officers.

In Marseille, France's second-largest city, young people dragged large metal plates to block streets, set fire to trash cans, and threw stones and bottles at riot police. According to Reuters, the clashes continued after sunset, and the police reported that looters robbed two jewelry stores.

According to the news agency, clashes also broke out in Lyon, Bordeaux, and Grenoble; in Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Nantes, and Nice, the police fired rounds of tear gas at the demonstrators.

However, the intensity of violence this time is still lower than that of a week ago. Back then, robbers and vandals caused widespread chaos in several cities in France.

These demonstrations began last month. At that time, a group of high school students in the suburbs of Paris expressed dissatisfaction with the poor conditions at their schools, including a shortage of teachers and unsatisfactory facilities. Since then, the scale of the demonstrations has continued to grow, evolving into a nationwide protest.

France's economic and political difficulties have significantly increased the cost of government borrowing. This week, the yield on French 10-year government bonds rose above 5% for the first time since 2002, closing at around 5.03% on Friday.

Some investors are concerned that the country's debt problems could spread to other regions of the eurozone.