Earlier, a peaceful protester in Paris who gave her name as Zelie told the BBC people had taken to the streets because they were “really frustrated” and had been “suffering a lot” since Macron came to office.

“They keep us quiet. They take our money, they tax us a lot and we can’t say anything. Today we are in the streets because it’s been too long, it’s been too much,” the 26-year-old said.

Two masked teenage protesters, who did not want to give their names, also said their generation was in despair and felt abandoned by the government.

“I think looting is really not good,” one of the demonstrators said of last Saturday’s disorder. “But it’s because of poverty and the violence of the police.”

He added that the protests would end “when we have a response to our demands. We really want a change in France”.

Meanwhile, some 13,000 people joined a rally against the hard-right National Rally party in the north-central city of Orléans which proceeded peacefully.

Mass protests triggered by similar issues as in France also rocked several other European cities on Saturday.

In Albania’s capital Tirana, riot police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators, while clashes were also reported in Belgium’s capital Brussels.

In Milan, northern Italy, a major security operation including hundreds of soldiers alongside police prevented protesters gathering in the city. Many had feared a repeat of violent scenes last week when some started fires, smashed windows and looted shops.

Around 550,000 people took part in last weekend’s demonstrations against rising fuel prices and the cost of living, with frustrations escalating after weeks of student protests. The chaos which followed resulted in more than 2,500 arrests.

Marches were initially largely peaceful but became marred by scenes of violence, looting and destruction, with more than 2,000 shops and other businesses across France said to have been directly impacted. The damage was estimated “at hundreds of millions euros”, France’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) said.

One demonstrator’s hand was blown off by a police crowd-control grenade, according to the AFP news agency, while about 1,000 police officers were injured.

The French authorities later said they were forced to impose overnight curfews in Paris and other cities.

The continuing protests come ahead of France’s presidential elections in six months’ time, and leading contenders have levelled the blame at Macron and his ministers.