Paris counts the destruction after the student movement, around 1,800 arrested across the country

A day after millions of people took to the streets across France, residents of Paris expressed frustration at the sight of the destruction. It was the biggest gathering since the protests began last month over education reform and the cost of living.

At the Place de la République in the heart of the capital on Sunday, people were surveying the previous day's devastation — broken windows, burned buildings, looted shops. Rabah, who has lived in Paris for more than 70 years, said this destruction was completely unacceptable to him; they too had protested in the past, but peacefully.

Claire, 56, was also distressed as she looked at the burned structure of a newspaper stand. She said she loves Paris very much, and seeing the city in such a state left her angry and emotional.

Nearby, the statue of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic, has been covered in graffiti. One piece of writing said, 'Those who sow misery, they reap anger.' This writing seemed to become the language of the movement's anger.

The student-led protests began in mid-September. The movement originated from grievances such as classrooms packed with excessive crowds, teacher shortages, systemic discrimination and lack of opportunity. It quickly spread beyond school grounds to the streets and merged with broader social and economic concerns.

On Saturday, those grievances combined into a nationwide rally. According to the authorities, 550,000 people took part; according to unions and organizers, the number was 800,000.

Although most protesters marched peacefully, the level of violent unrest created the fear that it would overshadow their message. In Paris, police used heavy tear gas and stun grenades even before the march began, which set the tone of tension for the day.

Stéphanie, a 23-year-old Paris student, said she was in the march from the town hall of the tenth arrondissement to the Place de Clichy, from the beginning to the end, and it was very peaceful — all kinds of people, everyone non-violent. But she lamented that the violence was so spectacular that the real reasons behind the protesters' grievances no longer got through.

President Emmanuel Macron, whose second and final term ends next year, will deliver a televised address to the nation at six in the evening (GMT) on Sunday after a meeting with government ministers, his office said.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said about 1,800 people have been arrested — about half of them in Paris — and more than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters have been injured in the unrest. 'Protest is a fundamental right. Violence and collectively creating disorder are not,' he said.

At Saturday's protest in Paris, groups of young people in black clothing and masks were seen smashing shop windows with objects like golf clubs and fleeing with stolen goods stuffed into bags. In Marseille, France's second-largest city, dozens of shops were looted and a group of people were thrown out after entering the city hall. Marseille's mayor Benoît Payen said the students and others have real demands, but because of those who smash everything, no one hears them anymore.

Footage showed fire spreading in the historic city hall building in Limoges. Government buildings were also damaged in other cities including Bordeaux.

Questions have also been raised about police conduct. According to figures published by the interior ministry on 13 October, the police inspectorate IGPN has opened 36 investigations into alleged police violence since the high school protests began; this figure is from before Saturday's protests. Human rights lawyers have described the wounds of some of the injured as comparable to wounds in conflict areas — among them a minor who lost a hand, another with a broken jaw, and a student who lost the sight in one eye.

Christophe Calvão, president of the Paris Young Lawyers Union, said an increasing systematic use is being seen of crowd-control measures generally reserved for much more serious situations, which raises tensions further and makes people angrier.

The government now has to answer widespread social discontent on the one hand, and on the other hand keep trying to pass a budget aimed at bringing public finances under control. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu wants to reduce the deficit through spending restraint and the tax system — which could increase public anger further, because cuts to France's generous welfare system have traditionally faced fierce resistance. With parties hardening their positions ahead of next year's presidential election, the political atmosphere has also become poisoned.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party and a possible presidential candidate, accused the government of inciting the unrest. Lecornu replied that this political responsibility is Mélenchon's, and accused far-left groups of organizing the violence. After the president's address, all eyes are now on the government's next steps.