Cost of living protests sweep Belgium, Italy, Portugal and France

Hundreds of thousands of people across Europe joined separate protests on Saturday over the rising cost of living, piling pressure on governments throughout the European Union. The unrest, which was not coordinated between countries, affected Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal.

France saw one of its most intense days of protest activity in years, with the Ministry of Interior reporting more than 550,000 participants nationwide and widespread confrontations between demonstrators and police.

The demonstrations, coming after weeks of student-led protests, turned violent as fringe groups set fires, looted businesses and targeted public buildings, luxury stores and supermarkets, while also attacking police officers and vehicles.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said 1,200 people had been detained and 150 police officers injured, remarking during a visit to officers stationed in central Paris that it was fortunate the casualty figures were not higher.

News agency AFP reported that numerous shops were looted in cities including Paris, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said entire streets in the capital had been left devastated.

In Limoges, masked protesters started a fire that largely destroyed the city's town hall, which was more than 140 years old. City halls in Marseille and Lille were broken into and vandalised, while demonstrators in Lyon set fire to the city's tourist office.