French Police Detain 135 as Protests Over Living Costs Enter Second Weekend

French police detained 135 people and used tear gas in Lyon on Saturday as authorities moved to prevent a repeat of the previous weekend's unrest during nationwide protests over the cost of living. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said weapons seized from demonstrators included metal balls, lead pellets, fireworks, slingshots, steel balls, improvised weapons, a katana and airsoft weapons. Nuñez said "there has been no major incident" in the country.

Authorities had said up to 70,000 officers would be deployed, backed by helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. The mobilization followed a first weekend in which about 3,000 shops across France were damaged or looted, and more than half a million people joined demonstrations.

In Lyon, where demonstrations were banned, about 150 protesters near the city center tried briefly to block a road before police dispersed them with tear gas. A 21-year-old student who spoke to Agence France-Presse anonymously said officers were "really mobile" and "come and disperse marches before they even form."

In Orleans, thousands marched against a congress held by Marine Le Pen's National Rally party, where she is launching her bid to succeed Emmanuel Macron as president. Police counted 11,000 participants and organizers put the figure at 26,000. Chants included "Macron resign. Le Pen in prison," according to AFP. French media reported the march ended peacefully early in the afternoon.

In Paris, authorities described the mood as "calm" as hundreds gathered at Porte d'Italie for the city's only authorized march, relocated at the last minute from the Bastille. Union representative Murielle Guilbert called it "scandalous" that Macron had barred protesters from demonstrating "where we wish to demonstrate," and said wages have not risen to the level they should.

The disruptions have closed major museums and boarded up businesses in the capital. Art Basel opened Friday for one day and canceled the weekend program. The first NFL game in France, featuring the New Orleans Saints, remains scheduled for Sunday. A Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais match planned for Sunday was moved to Monday night.

The protests began last month when high school students in the southeast of Paris demonstrated for better conditions and widened into demands for relief from rising living costs. The Yellow Vests said they will hold further demonstrations on Oct. 31, including rallies and a sit-in outside parliament and city halls. Unrest has also spread to Milan, Tirana, Madrid and Lisbon.

The National Rally congress in Orleans is scheduled to run through Sunday, and the Yellow Vests' next demonstrations are set for Oct. 31.