France's October 17 protests: 550,000 marchers, about 1,000 police injured and 3,000 businesses damaged, officials say

France's nationwide day of protest on Saturday, October 17, drew about 550,000 people according to the Interior Ministry and 800,000 according to the CGT union, and ended in looting, arson and attacks on public buildings in several cities, France 24 and SBS report. Two days later, the government's consolidated figures put police injuries at about 1,000 and damaged businesses at about 3,000. Reports differ on whether anyone was killed in connection with the protests.

Turnout and policing

SBS, citing the Interior Ministry, reports that the 550,000 marchers took part in about 110 protests. France 24 reports that territorial intelligence services had expected around 200,000, and that about 60,000 police and gendarmes were deployed. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged that authorities had not anticipated the scale and had lost control in some cities, according to France 24 and Al Jazeera.

Injuries

The Interior Ministry said almost 1,000 police and gendarmes were injured on Saturday, Al Jazeera reports; SBS adds that seven were seriously hurt. NBC News gives the same ministry figure as covering police officers and firefighters. Earlier counts were lower: on Saturday night Nuñez had cited more than 500 injured officers, gendarmes and firefighters, according to AP via CBS News.

Protesters were also hurt. France 24 reports that a 17-year-old lost a hand to a grenade in Saint-Etienne and that a 17-year-old girl in Mulhouse lost the use of an eye; the police oversight body IGPN has been asked to investigate.

The deaths reported

• A protester in Paris. France 24 reports that a demonstrator died on the fringes of the Paris march after a "probable cardiac arrest", with the circumstances not yet known. AP, via CBS News, says Paris police gave no details and the Paris prosecutor's office is investigating.
• A police officer in Nantes. SBS and CNN have reported that a police officer was killed. A 22-year-old policier adjoint died at about 1 a.m. on October 17 after being struck by a car on the Nantes ring road, according to 20 Minutes and AFP on Yahoo Actualités and the police news site Actu17. Both say he was chasing on foot two men suspected of damaging a road-authority vehicle, and neither links the incident to the protests. Actu17 says the driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Monday that "no one was killed and that is a miracle", NBC News reports. The reports read do not reconcile his statement with the death in Paris.

Damage

Lecornu put the number of looted or vandalised businesses at about 3,000, according to NBC News; AFP, in a report carried by Dawn, says the cost runs into hundreds of millions of euros.

• Limoges: the 19th-century town hall was gutted and its roof collapsed. The Haute-Vienne prefect said the fire was set deliberately, AP reports via CBS News.
• Lyon: the tourist office was burned (France 24, NBC News).
• Marseille, Lille and Angers: town halls were broken into, Nuñez said (NBC News). CBS News reports that Marseille's city hall was covered in graffiti.
• Paris: looting and car fires around Place de la République, where the base of the Marianne statue was partly dismantled (AP via CBS News).

What came next

President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address on Sunday that the country felt anger and shame and that those responsible would be held accountable, Al Jazeera and France 24 report. On Monday Lecornu asked local authorities to impose partial curfews. The Yellow Vest movement has called a further day of protest for Saturday, October 24, according to Al Jazeera.