(ANSA) - PARIS, 01 MAY - A police officer was hit by a volley and suffered severe burns to his hand during the clashes in Paris in the May Day demonstration which was also an opportunity to protest again against the pension reform by President Emmanuel Macron.
The police reported it.
In the capital, as well as in other cities in France, there were clashes and police officers used tear gas and water cannons.
In Paris, the radical fringes of the demonstrators threw stones at the police and broke the windows of banks and real estate agencies.
Police said 46 people had been arrested so far in the capital alone.
Officers also used tear gas in Toulouse in southern France as tensions erupted, while four cars were set on fire in the southeastern city of Lyon.
Clashes, damage and tear gas also in Nantes.
"Even if the vast majority of protesters were peaceful, in Paris, Lyon and Nantes in particular the police are facing extremely violent thugs who have come with one goal: to attack the policemen and other people's property," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter.
Union CGT said 550,000 people attended the demonstration in Paris and 2.3 million across France.
Government estimates are much lower: 782,000 across the country, of which 112,000 in the capital.
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