Burnt out cars and shattered glass on Paris streets after protests turn to riots and lootingAround 1,800 people were arrested after nationwide protests saw outbreaks of violence and vandalism.3 hrs agoEurope

France awoke to scenes of widespread damage on Sunday after a day of riots and demonstrations, with shopfronts shattered, burnt out cars, charred bikes, and piles of glass and debris on the pavements of Paris.

Police arrested about 1,800 people on Saturday as some 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets for protests that were largely peaceful.

They were demonstrating against rising fuel prices, the cost of living and deteriorating public services, including schools.

Groups of rioters, some dressed in black and wearing masks and balaclavas, also came out in Paris, Marseille and other towns and cities, with some setting fire to cars and buildings.

In Paris, protesters clashed with riot police, who turned tear gas and water cannon on the crowds. During the day, some groups lit fires in the street and torched vehicles. At least one restaurant was gutted by fire, and the BBC saw fighting breaking out among some of the groups.

Riot police were seen charging at one crowd in central Paris and hitting several people with batons.

“It’s like we had a war,” Paris resident Mehmet Ozeden told news agency AFP.

Another resident, Anita GrasIt, said it was “terrifying” to see groups of young people “smashing everything, with total impunity”.

The looters were “proudly carrying supermarket baskets filled with goods and laughing about their thefts”, Maryse, a woman living nearby who gave only her first name, told the BBC.

Further south in Marseille, protesters broke into the city hall by using a metal fence as a battering ram. In Lille, a McDonalds was set on fire, police said, and an Apple store in the city was broken into and looted.

More than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters were injured in the unrest on Saturday, France’s interior ministry said.

Around 1,500 shops and retailers were also damaged in the disturbances, the Retail and Trade Federation said.

On Sunday morning in Paris, residents surveyed the aftermath, which included the smashed glass frontages of designer stores including Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Versace.

Shopkeepers were out early with brooms, picking up large shards of glass as they began the clean-up. Rubbish trucks worked their way down some of the larger streets to clear some of the debris.

Many shops were daubed with graffiti, some reading “tax the rich” and “eat the rich.”

The BBC visited a clothes shop close to the Place de la République which had been ransacked, with piles of clothes and furniture scattered across the shop floor.

The shop’s distraught owner told the BBC he saw looters on the CCTV who were in the shop for just over an hour and a half, and that during that time he saw no police in the process.

The owner – who asked not to be identified – told the BBC he did not believe any of those who robbed the shop were genuine protesters against school conditions or the cost of living. He said the looters were taking advantage of the demonstrations.

Close to the Place de la République, a BBC reporter visited the Good Vibes bakery, whose glass front was completely shattered, and the Nicolas wine store, where every bottle was either stolen or smashed, leaving smell of alcohol lingering in the street.

CCTV footage shown on France’s Channel 2 shows groups of teenagers, mostly wearing masks, in a shop selling mobile phones helping themselves to items from the shelves.

Student protests in France have seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets since they began late last month. Protesters have been demanding additional investment in their schools, criticising the lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that while demonstrating was a fundamental right, there were “outrages” committed by “several thousand far-left individuals” who were determined to target public buildings and confront the police.

Later, they were joined by “delinquents who looted and ransacked numerous businesses in several cities in France”, he said.

In the city of Lyon, Mayor Grégory Doucet said the burning of the city’s tourist office was “a tragedy”, telling French outlet BFMTV that “it breaks our hearts because it’s a very iconic, well-known historic building”.

Local police said “hostile individuals” prevented firefighters from safely tackling the blaze.

Fire crews also battled a fire at Limoges town hall, which caused part of the building to collapse. Local officials said the town hall was “largely lost.”

“A wild horde” had “deliberately” set fire to the 143-year-old building, said Maurice Barate, the prefect for the Haute-Vienne department.

Elsewhere, a young man “had his hand blown off” by a small explosive in Saint-Étienne, the south-eastern city’s Mayor Régis Juanico said on social media.

“Such a tragedy should never have happened,” he said.

France’s interior ministry said Saturday’s protests involved “targeted acts of violence” from “hooded individuals” in places, including parts of the capital and also in Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse, and the western city of Angers.

Damage to buildings was reported across France, including in Grenoble, Avignon, Pau, Montpellier and Valence.