Police used tear gas and launched a charge after some people at the head of the protest, dressed in black with their faces covered, raided a grocery store and then sparked a fire as the march closed in on Place de la Nation in the east of the city.

Poubelle, chariot, extincteur… tout est bon pour attiser le feu. #Manif28Mars @Le_Figaro pic.twitter.com/MkLA0kU3nH

— Elisabeth Pierson (@zazpierson) March 28, 2023

Reporters on the ground have reported bins and street furniture being set on fire.

At least 22 people were arrested in the capital by the afternoon, Paris police said.

Thick smoke on Paris’s Boulevard Voltaire, fire(s) set alight.
Crowds are packed into the streets here, so much that the protest can’t move forwards.#f24 #FranceProtests pic.twitter.com/oQ1aH73CrK

— Catherine Norris Trent (@cntrentF24) March 28, 2023

🔴 Affrontements en cours à #Paris en tête de la #Manif28Mars #greve28mars pic.twitter.com/ILeKel0YQi

— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) March 28, 2023

Tuesday was another day of strikes and mass demonstrations against the government’s planned pension reform.

The reported clashes in Paris took place close to the route of the protest march end in Nation, but many of the trouble-makers were black-clad and masked and did not appear to be part of the peaceful demonstrations.

Some appeared to be targeting the police, who have been the subject of much anger over heavy-handed policing of previous protests. 

Tout mon soutien à @qbataillon, dont la permanence parlementaire a été une nouvelle fois attaquée par les casseurs de l’extrême-gauche.

À travers ce lieu symbolique de notre démocratie, ce sont nos institutions qu’ils veulent détruire. Nous ne leur céderons rien. pic.twitter.com/VA7il1vAup

— Franck Riester (@franckriester) March 28, 2023

READ ALSO ‘It’s bigger than pensions now’ – why the French are continuing to protest