Police responded with tear gas after some protesters threw projectiles. A spokesman with the local prefecture said 21 people had been arrested.

Television footage showed groups of black-clad protesters trying to break into shops, while police trucks carrying water cannon were seen arriving on scene.

The Gilets Jaunes (yellow vest) protests, named after motorists’ high-visibility jackets, began over fuel tax increases but morphed into a sometimes violent revolt against Macron and a government they see as out of touch.

The president has sought to ease tensions with €17 billion (US$18.82 billion) of countermeasures to boost the monthly minimum wage, remove some taxes, and offer relief to poor retirees.

But he faces a new round of anger with a long-awaited reform that seeks to merge France’s 42 different pension systems into a single points-based system.

Parisian commuters faced travel misery on Friday as metro workers went on strike over plans to reduce their retirement privileges.