France reels after cost-of-living protests see widespread violence

Parisians surveyed damage in the city on Sunday after a day of major protests which also saw scores of rioters take to the street where they clashed with police, vandalized properties, set objects ablaze and looted stores. Protests in the city were part of nationwide demonstrations against the cost of living crisis, which came in conjunction with student-led rallies demanding greater investment in educational institutions. Around Paris' Place de la République, where the the heaviest of the scuffles in the city took place, dislodged cobblestones, shattered storefronts and broken glass marked the aftermath of the events. Looting and damage were reported around the square and in some other tourist and shopping areas in the city center. French President Emmanuel Macron vowed late on Saturday to capture and hold to account all those who hijacked the peaceful demonstrations and engaged in criminal activity. At least 1,800 people were arrested across France, close to half of them in the capital, in the protest which drew over half a million people nationwide. Police revealed that one person died of a heart attack during the events, and 13 security officers were injured in clashes with the rioters.