A young man “had his hand blown off” by a small explosive in Saint-Étienne, the south-eastern city’s Mayor Régis Juanico said on social media, adding: “Such a tragedy should never have happened.”

Hundreds of thousands of students have protested in recent weeks over staff shortages and dilapidated facilities in the country’s lycées – secondary schools attended by 15- to 18-year-olds.

Their numbers have been bolstered by trade union members and other protest groups.

These groups include the so-called gilets jaunes (or “yellow vest”) movement, which demonstrated against cost-of-living hikes for more than a year from 2018 – becoming one of the longest-lived protest movements in French history.

France’s interior ministry said Saturday’s protests involved “targeted acts of violence” from “hooded individuals” in places, including parts of the capital and also Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse and Angers.

Damage to buildings was reported across France, including in Grenoble, Avignon, Pau, Montpellier and Valence.

Clothes and food shops were raided in Paris, while an Apple store in Lille was broken into and emptied.

Footage authenticated by BBC Verify showed a tourist train in Grenoble being driven by masked men along a narrow street in the city centre towards at least three riot police officers.