'Record' 855 people arrested over Paris protest violence: police

Police in Paris said Sunday they had arrested a "record" 855 people over protest violence in the capital the day before, with the prosecutor's office saying more than 500 were being held in custody.

The capital, and many other French cities, on Saturday experienced clashes between police and protesters, multiple street blazes and widespread looting.

Paris's deputy mayor Lamia El Aaraje said the capital had been hit by "a level of violence that I believe we had never seen before".

The Paris prosecutor's office said that, of those in custody, 346 were adults and 171 were minors, for a total of 517. It added that the numbers were provisional and could change.

"Arrests took place throughout the night and up to 6:00 am (0400 GMT) this morning," the office said.

Most of the arrests were for receiving stolen goods, association with intent to commit violence, and vandalism, it said.

The marches against the rising cost of living descended into violence on Saturday with the city's mayor Emmanuel Gregoire saying that whole streets in Paris had been "devastated" as groups of masked young men torched parked cars and ransacked shops.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who had condemned the "extreme intensity" of the violence, said 150 police officers had been hurt.

The violence has also drawn global headlines -- in the United States, Vice President JD Vance blamed immigration for the unrest.

"Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility," he said on X.

The violence began on the sidelines of marches in the capital and other cities that the interior ministry said were attended by 550,000 people.

The CGT union, which took part, said 800,000 people participated.

The widespread unrest comes just six months ahead of elections to replace President Emmanuel Macron.