France opens 'attempted murder' probe after riot police attacked with petrol bomb

French prosecutors have opened an attempted murder investigation into rioters who threw a petrol bomb at police during protests in Paris on Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including high school and university students, staged a third weekend of demonstrations in the French capital and other parts of the country over education and living costs.

While mostly peaceful, some gatherings in Paris ended in "extraordinary" levels of violence from some rioters, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.

The Paris Police Prefecture accused several hundred rioters of attacking security forces with projectiles, including a molotov cocktail.

"Explosive devices were thrown at around fifteen gendarmes as well as police officers," the prosecutor's office said on Sunday.

Gendarmes are the military police branch of the French armed forces. About 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed across the country on Saturday to respond to an estimated 320,000 protesters nationwide.

Prosecutors said an investigation had been opened in Paris for "attempted murder of persons vested with public authority".

Video and photos from a gathering in the city's east showed an incendiary device exploding at the feet of police.

Prosecutors on Sunday said initial injuries included second-degree burns.

The gendarme struck by the Molotov cocktail told French television of the burns he suffered, describing "skin that stings" and a "rain" of projectiles thrown at his unit.

Investigators are working to identify those responsible, with no suspects in custody, the prosecutor's office said.

Fewer shops damaged

More than 770 people were arrested during weekend protests in France, the interior ministry said on Sunday. 

The ministry said there had been "no major incidents" late on Saturday.

The number of shops damaged on the sidelines of Saturday's protests was significantly lower than previous weekends, with some 20 businesses affected, according to France's Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI).

But CCI France voiced concern about the impact of protests on retail activity ahead of the peak year-end holiday season.

School blockades to restart Monday

France's protests emerged from weeks of demonstrations by high school students protesting deteriorating learning conditions and inequality.

Efforts from the French government to address concerns have largely failed to appease student protesters.

Pierre Sourzat, head of the "Lyceens!" student group, said high school blockades would restart from Monday when students return from a two-week holiday.

"It will be more significant from Tuesday, but we know that some schools will be blocked as early as tomorrow," he told French broadcaster RMC.

"We support all our comrades who are blocking their schools from tomorrow."

Proposed government measures aimed at addressing students' demands, include replacing the university admissions platform and providing loans for school renovations.

But students do not believe the proposals go far enough.

On Saturday, Sabrine Kharbach, spokeswoman for the Union Etudiante (Student Union), said blockades of universities and high schools would take place on Tuesday and Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron has called for classes to resume in a calm manner, arguing that "young people have been heard".

Mr Sourzat countered, saying "the president hasn't listened to us".

"It's smoke and mirrors," he said. 

"There's a bit of polish on the surface, but once you scratch beneath it, there's nothing there."

Mr Sourzat said the proposed overhaul of the university admissions platform, long criticised for its lack of transparency, failed to address the shortage of places in higher education.

He also dismissed the government's plan to reduce class sizes as insufficient, noting that it would apply only to 10th-grade classes.

"We were asking for all year groups," he said.

AFP