Protesters have taken to the streets in France once again, after demonstrations last weekend saw 2,400 arrests and widespread violence in cities across the country. 

Pictures of fires and vandalism shocked the world after at least 550,000 people protested over the cost of living and deteriorating public services.

The clock tower at Limoges city hall became a symbol of the unrest when it collapsed last Saturday night after firefighters fought to save it.

After the protests, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed the public’s “anger” and “shame” in an address to the nation on Sunday.

However, many have marched again this weekend. Here’s what we know.

How many arrests have there been this week?

The Interior Ministry said 410,000 people took part in nationwide protests, while unions claimed turnout was double that. Police also confirmed 110,000 in Paris.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 135 people had been arrested nationwide by early afternoon, many following pre-emptive searches that uncovered fireworks, ball bearings and other items that could be used as weapons.

Later in the day, howeverm he told French media that at least 1,000 have been arrested, with BFM TV citing Nuñez as saying that “this number will increase”.

“We have to be ultra, ultra responsive. We have significant calls for disruption from political groups and quite simply from criminals,” he told reporters. “It is going to be a long day.”

Some 70,000 police officers were on hand nationwide, as the government sought to prevent a repeat ⁠of the riots and looting that rocked the country last weekend.

The French government has deployed 10,000 more police and gendarmes than last week.

While the ⁠start of the main Paris march was reportedly peaceful, at the end of the march, police fired tear gas and used water cannon to try to disperse small groups of hooded youths.

Police also fired tear gas ​at ⁠crowds in Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille and Nice, where a water cannon was deployed after protesters refused orders to pull back.

In France’s second and third cities, Marseille and Lyon, clashes broke out between hooded youths and police.

Protests also emerged elsewhere in Europe. On Saturday Belgian police used tear gas and pepper spray as they clashed in Brussels with anti-government demonstrators, while protests took place in Italian cities for a second weekend.

What are the protests over?

There is a general sense of disillusionment among the French public, who, like much of Europe, have seen costs increase, high inflation, and have been told there may be government spending cuts.

The marches began with weeks of protests by students dissatisfied with conditions in schools and staff shortages. They led to thousands of arrests, hundreds of injuries and violence.

Macron met high-school students on Friday and made commitments to them, but their representatives said students should “continue to mobilise”. Macron will make his commitments to improve high school education from Monday.

The student protests, however,  grew into a wider demonstration about society, and they were joined by marchers voicing their dissatisfaction with the cost-of-living crisis and the Government, including the Yellow Vest movement. 

Meanwhile, France is also preparing for what could be a divisive and unpredictable election period after Macron leaves office next spring.

It has been reported that a candidate from the centre would fail to make it through to the vote in May, leaving voters choosing between hard-right and hard-left candidates.

What have demonstrators said of the reaction?

Many demonstrators accused the government of overreacting, with soldiers dispatched to patrol the Champs-Élysées. “We shed tears for shops, not for the people who are being impoverished all year ‌round,” said Clara Lebbadi, a 22-year-old arts student.

“My friend and I almost didn’t come because we were ​scared, but we came precisely because it’s important not to let repression win,” she added.

Far-left French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said in Paris: “There is a magnificent mass response, showing collective discipline and self-control. I think he [Emmanuel Macron] will realise that this is going to happen every week – it’s time for him to give in.

“Don’t add fuel to the fire; stop trying to pit people against each other.”

The first authorised march on ‌Saturday passed off peacefully in Orléans, around 120 km (75 miles) ⁠south of Paris, where demonstrators rallied against Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally as it held a party congress ⁠in the city.

Tensions were heightened by a shooting west of Paris on Friday in which a gunman suspected of acting out of Islamophobic hatred killed one person and ‌wounded four others, including a 12-year-old girl.

“We ​have come to tell the far right, face-to-face, that we are ‌not afraid,” said Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis and ​a member of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

How are small businesses responding?

After last week’s chaos, during which small businesses were targeted by looters, much of central Paris took on the appearance of a city under lockdown.

Shopkeepers boarding ​up storefronts, ⁠museums closing their doors and more than 20 ‌metro stations shut.

Business groups urged retailers to remain closed after thousands of shops and businesses were damaged or looted across France last weekend.

“There are hardly any customers, so it’s not really worth staying open,” said Oskar, manager of a Kiton boutique in ‌Paris.

Several of the capital’s best-known cultural institutions, including the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay ‌and the Paris Opera, closed for the day as a precaution, leaving tourists frustrated.

“Everything’s boarded up and we’re not quite sure where we should be,” said Xavier Dolliole, a tourist from the US city of New Orleans.

The route for Paris’ main demonstration was settled only after a legal battle triggered by a last-minute police ⁠order moving organisers away from the city centre towards the southeastern fringes of the capital.

Police argued the original route passed through areas with a high concentration of businesses similar to those targeted last weekend. Leftist leaders said the late change was aimed at causing confusion and keeping people away.

“Once again, those in power are creating disruption for the marches and impossible deadlines for organisations to reorganise themselves,” said hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who joined the crowds on the streets of Paris.