French Protesters Arm Themselves With Baguette Bread Against Security Forces

Protesters in France resorted to using "baguette" bread - the French national symbol - as a weapon against security forces; some of them, dressed entirely in black clothes with masks covering their faces, threw pieces of bread at the police during heated clashes.

Protesters were seen in France throwing baguette loaves at riot police officers, while violent demonstrations spread across Europe protesting against living costs, education levels, and the policies of Emmanuel Macron's government.

The French police used tear gas and water cannons, and arrested around 400 people so far, according to the Daily Mail newspaper.

Activists from the "Yellow Vests" movement in France joined the protesting students, as an estimated 550,000 people took to the streets across the country - including 110,000 in Paris - leading to clashes in several locations and similar protests in neighboring European countries.

Some of the most severe violence occurred in the city of Lyon in eastern France, where some groups set fire to a tourism office.

A police source stated that a protester in the southern city of Saint-Etienne lost his hand after a bomb used by the police to control crowds exploded in it.

This incident is the second of its kind in recent days; on October 5/November, a 15-year-old student lost his left hand following the explosion of a stun grenade outside his school in the city of Lens, during protests witnessed in the region.

In a statement, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported that 60 law enforcement personnel were injured during the clashes witnessed in France on Saturday, noting that two of them were transported to the hospital unconscious.

Nuñez added that looting operations, or attempts at looting, were recorded in many cities, including Paris, Rouen, Nantes, Toulouse, and Marseille.

Shops and businesses fortified their facades and doors, and several metro stations in the French capital were closed.

Violent demonstrations extended to other parts of Europe; the cities of Milan in Italy and Brussels in Belgium witnessed similar protests on Saturday.

France also witnessed protests lasting about 5 weeks, organized by school and university students objecting to the dilapidated education system in the country.

They have now been joined by many other social categories, including those wearing "Yellow Vests" (Gilets Jaunes) - who became famous for causing chaos in France in 2018 protesting a sharp increase in diesel taxes.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm in the evening, demanding that protesters "respect people and property."

Macron will be forced to step down in May, after completing the maximum allowed term for any French president, which is two presidential terms.