Paris Police Clash With 'Black Bloc' Anarchists At Climate March

French police clashed on Saturday with black-clad and masked protesters who they accused of disrupting a climate rally in Paris

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2019) French police clashed on Saturday with black-clad and masked protesters who they accused of disrupting a climate rally in Paris.

"The violent black bloc reassembled within the March for the Climate, disrupting the progress of a peaceful manifestation," the police prefecture tweeted.

Thousands of climate activists took to the streets of Paris to protest the government's inaction. They carried placards that read "No Nature - No Future" and "I love Climate."

Members of the so-called Black Bloc anarchist movement then merged with the crowd, smashing bus stops, shattering store windows and spraying walls with paint, a Sputnik correspondent said.

This led to sporadic confrontations between violent protesters and riot police, who used batons and fired tear gas. Some anarchists were snatched from the crowd and dragged away.

Arrests were also made during a routine yellow vest demonstration calling for a pension reform elsewhere in Paris. Police said they had detained 163 people and issued hundreds of verbal warnings by 6 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT).