Burned cars and broken glass on the streets of Paris, the scars showing the day after the protests

France woke up on Sunday morning to a picture of extensive damage. Broken shop glass, burned cars, burned bikes and piles of glass and debris lay scattered on the sidewalks of Paris. These scars spread across the capital after the previous day's rioting and protests.

Police arrested about 1,800 people on Saturday. That day about 550,000 protesters had taken to the streets, and their protest was mainly peaceful. They were protesting against rising fuel prices, the cost of living and the deterioration of public services including schools.

But groups of rioters, some of them wearing black clothing and masks, came out in Paris, Marseille and other cities. They set fire to cars and buildings.

There was extensive looting in various cities including Paris, Marseille and Lille. In Paris, protesters clashed with riot police, and the police used tear gas and water cannon on the crowds. During the day, some groups set fires on the streets and burned vehicles. At least one restaurant in the capital was destroyed by fire, and fighting was also seen among some groups.

Riot police were seen charging toward a crowd in central Paris and striking several people with batons. Further south, in Marseille, protesters used a metal fence as a battering ram to break into the city building. In Lille, a McDonald's was set on fire, police said, and an Apple Store in the city was smashed and looted.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 150 police officers were injured in the unrest.

On Sunday morning, residents in Paris surveyed the damage. Among it were the broken glass fronts of designer stores including Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Versace. Shopkeepers came out with brooms from early morning to start clearing away the large pieces of glass. Garbage trucks worked along the main roads to remove the debris.

Graffiti had been sprayed on many shops, some of it reading slogans such as "tax the rich" and "eat the rich."

A clothing store near Place de la République was looted, with clothes and furniture strewn across the store floor. The distraught owner said he had watched on CCTV as the looters stayed inside the store for more than an hour and a half, and during that time he saw no police. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said he does not believe those who looted the store were genuine protesters about the condition of the schools or the cost of living; they took advantage of the protest. CCTV footage shown on France's Channel 2 showed groups of masked teenagers picking items off the shelves in a mobile phone store.

Student protests in France began toward the end of last month and have brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets. The protesters are demanding greater investment in their schools, criticizing shortages of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings.

In the city of Lyon, Mayor Grégory Doucet described the burning of the city's tourism office as a tragedy. He said that because it is an extremely symbolic and well-known historic building, the incident breaks the heart. Local police said hostile individuals obstructed firefighters from putting out the fire safely.

Firefighters also battled the fire at Limoges city hall, in which part of the building collapsed. Local officials said the city hall is essentially lost. Maurice Barrate, prefect of the Haute-Vienne department, said the 143-year-old building was deliberately set on fire. In the southeastern city of Saint-Étienne, a young man's hand was blown off by a small explosive, Mayor Régis Juanico said on social media, commenting that such a tragedy should never have happened.

France's Interior Ministry said that in Saturday's protests, masked individuals carried out targeted violence in parts of the capital as well as in Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse and the western city of Angers. Reports of damage to buildings were also received from places including Grenoble, Avignon, Pau, Montpellier and Valence. As the cleanup and the accounting of the damage continue, debate goes on in France over the causes of the protests and the role of those involved in the violence.