Hundreds of thousands of striking workers have walked off their jobs across France and marched against the rising cost of living in a renewed challenge to President Emmanuel Macron, following weeks of student-led demonstrations.

The rallies on Thursday were largely peaceful, but clashes broke out in several cities, including Paris and Lyon, with police firing tear gas.

France’s Interior Ministry said 575,000 people participated in the protests nationwide, while the CGT union, one of the organisers, said 1.6 million had taken part.

At least 448 people were arrested and 53 police officers were injured, the ministry said.

The strikers are demanding a higher minimum wage, raises for all workers, changes to the tax system and better conditions in schools.

“The question is not whether workers will win,” Sophie Binet, the CGT’s leader, told the crowd in Paris, but “how much we’re going to win”.

‘Future at stake’

France has seen regular protests since September, when students began demonstrating against poor conditions in public schools. Their movement has since merged with broader anger over living costs and inequality, which erupted into the country’s worst rioting in years on October 17.

Thursday’s one-day strike was called by unions representing teachers, rail workers, hospital staff and postal employees, and some energy workers joined them. The protest action came five months ahead of elections to replace Macron, with the far right leading in the opinion polls.

The Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe closed for the day, though transport was largely unaffected. About 16 percent of teachers were on strike, according to the Ministry of National Education.

In Paris, the mood was initially festive. A diverse crowd sang the national anthem, “La Marseillaise”, as carnival-style floats rolled through the streets after the main march set off in the afternoon from the Place de la Republique.

Marches in Lyon, Marseille, Nantes and other cities had begun that morning.

In the capital, Jack Eisner, a student at Sciences Po, told Global News Insight that people are protesting because they feel their “future is at stake”.

“Whether it’s the environmental crisis, whether it’s war, it’s just getting harder and harder to find a job and an education,” he said. “I think a lot of younger people feel the same way and a lot of older people too with the rising prices of goods and fuel.”

Clashes in Paris, Lyon

About two hours into the march, some protesters at the front clashed with the police, who fired tear gas. The police said hooded individuals had vandalised property and that officers moved immediately to isolate them.

More scuffles broke out as the march wound down, and the authorities put out at least one small fire nearby.

Several high schools in the Paris area were damaged, and one in the city centre was set on fire, regional authorities said.

In Lyon, riot police fired tear gas and charged a group of protesters, some dressed in black with their faces covered, who shouted anti-police slogans. The Interior Ministry said officers there had faced several hundred so-called “black bloc” protesters, and that at least one vehicle was set on fire.

The violence had been contained, the ministry said, though tensions remained high.

At a protest in the northern city of Lille, Hugo, a history student, told Global News Insight that he was angry about the social situation in France.

“The workers are angry that wages are too low, life is getting more and more expensive and in the universities and high schools, we can feel the lack of public services. So, there is a common anger in the country, and that’s why I am here today. I’m angry about this social situation,” he said.

“There is money in the society, but it’s in the hands of a small group of people, and we have to fight to change the situation,” he added.

In Marseille, Lea, a 31-year-old social worker who did not give her last name, told the AFP news agency that she was tired of counting every euro. “My basket of 20 items has become too expensive,” she said.

“We want cheaper groceries, cheaper petrol.” Still, she said, the movement had given her hope: “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything like this.”

Jean-Marc Morel, 60, said he sensed the protests gaining momentum. “There are a lot of us here, and it’s joyful, it’s diverse,” he said. “We’ve got all kinds of professions, old people, young people.”

Several high-profile politicians attended Thursday’s marches, including presidential candidates Jean-Luc Melenchon and Raphael Glucksmann.

Ahead of the protests, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had promised “an extremely firm response” to any violence, and 70,000 officers were deployed nationwide.

The deployment came after the government faced criticism over its handling of the unrest, with the riots on October 17 leaving damaged shops and public buildings across the country. Allegations of police brutality have also prompted internal investigations, with several teenage protesters seriously wounded in clashes.

French authorities have since imposed curfews, banned large gatherings and required marchers to take routes away from major boulevards, measures the unions have denounced.

“The government tried to block the demonstrations. The demonstrations are bigger than ever,” said Binet, the head of the CGT union.

The strike adds pressure on Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who is scheduled to meet labour unions and employer groups on Monday to discuss wages and living costs.

Polls suggest that Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, is the front-runner to succeed Macron in April, and that she could face Melenchon in a runoff.

The unrest in France is part of a broader wave of discontent across Europe, with young people in Germany, Spain, Greece and Italy staging similar protests in recent weeks, and demonstrations against falling living standards in Portugal and elsewhere.