Tension and clashes as hundreds of thousands protest again in France

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France on Saturday for a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations over the cost of living and the state of schools, with authorities saying some 320,000 people marched nationwide.

Marches in Paris began peacefully but turned violent as demonstrators gathered in the capital, where police fired tear gas at protesters. Clashes were also reported in Lyon. An Al Jazeera correspondent in Paris said police fired large amounts of tear gas into the crowd, and riot police warned over loudspeakers that they would fire more unless protesters dispersed. Dozens of masked people dressed in black used hammers to pry up paving stones and hurl them at officers, according to the report.

France's Interior Ministry said at least 290 people had been arrested nationwide. Some 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed across the country after Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned of a "very high risk" of disorder. The main Paris march was rerouted to the city's eastern edge after a last-minute court battle.

The demonstrations, led by a coalition of youth organisations and unions representing high school and university students, began last month over neglected school buildings, teacher shortages and planned university reforms. An October 17 round of protests drew more than 500,000 people and turned into some of France's worst rioting in years, according to Al Jazeera.

Some protesters told Al Jazeera that "trust has gone," though most condemned the violence. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has held several meetings with protest representatives, and the government says it has heard their concerns.