PARIS, September 18. /TASS/. Over 500,000 people took to the streets all across France to protest against the government’s plans to cut social spending, the Le Figaro newspaper wrote citing the Interior Ministry’s data.

In the French capital alone, some 55,000 protesters gathered in opposition to the austerity measures.

France’s biggest trade union, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), reported that over one million people took part in the nationwide rallies.

The rallies descended into violence in Paris, Nantes, Rennes, Lyon and Marseille and other cities as radicals attacked shops and banks. Many were arrested. Police used tear gas to disperse crowds.

Over 80,000 law enforcement officers, armored vehicles and drones were used to maintain public order.