Police use tear gas and arrest hundreds as protests spread across France

• Hundreds of people have been arrested in France during nationwide protests against rising living costs, inequality, and weak public spending.
• The unrest originally began in September at high schools in northern Paris over teacher shortages and shabby facilities before expanding into a broader national movement.
• In Lyon, protesters set the tourism office alight, while in Marseille, a crowd stormed city hall and painted an ‘A’ for anarchy on the wall.
• Police deployed tear gas and a water cannon and arrested at least 400 people, with President Emmanuel Macron calling for calm.
• The protests echo the 2018 Yellow Vest movement, mounting further pressure on Mr Macron as high public debt pushes French borrowing costs to 20-year highs.

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