Looting, blazes and clashes in France amid nationwide protests

Police and protesters clashed violently in Paris and other French cities on Saturday on the sidelines of nationwide marches against soaring inflation, with one demonstrator’s hand blown off, multiple blazes set, and looters breaking into dozens of stores to strip them bare. With just months to go before the two-round elections in April and May to choose Macron’s successor, the demonstrations follow weeks of high-school student blockades demanding better learning conditions. Macron and his government were criticised by many of the demonstrators, who numbered 500,000 across the country,…