Hundreds of thousands of protesters march across France for third week in a row

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in France to protest against the rising cost of living and deteriorating school conditions as youth-led protests spread to Italy and Germany. With six months to go until the presidential election, France’s largest cities including Paris, Lyon and Marseille saw marches for a third consecutive Saturday. The French interior ministry said 320,000 people took to the streets across the country on Saturday in what were largely peaceful protests. Student unions put the figure at half a million, including 200,000 in Paris. Arrests were significantly lower than during previous demonstrations, although tensions and clashes emerged in Marseille, Paris and Lyon as marches dispersed.