The anti-government protest, which began at around 3 p.m. local time (13:00 GMT), was calm at first but turned violent after the group in black joined the demonstration.
Some people started painting graffiti on walls and windows of nearby buildings, while someone threw bottles at a woman who tried to film what was happening.
Alors que revoilà le canon à eau pic.twitter.com/FYX2zGbqXH
— Gurvan Kristanadjaja (@GurvanKris) 26 мая 2018 г.
The police had to use tear gas to subdue the violent protesters.
— Laïreche Rachid (@RachidLaireche) 26 мая 2018 г.
— Gurvan Kristanadjaja (@GurvanKris) 26 мая 2018 г.
— Gurvan Kristanadjaja (@GurvanKris) 26 мая 2018 г.
Seven police officers were lightly injured as a result of the clashes with protesters wearing black, who attempted to take over a bank building, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said.
"It is true that a group of Black Bloc radicals at one point attempted to take over a bank building. However, the law enforcement reacted extremely fast, within less than one minute," the minister said, as aired on the BFMTV broadcaster.
According to the broadcaster, at least 35 people were detained during the protests dubbed "flood of people."
Voici le ruisseau populaire à Lyon c'est impressionnant toute cette foule!😂😂😂heureusement que la cgt est venue en renfort sinon ils étaient 4 #MareePopulaire (basse) pic.twitter.com/nT5I0qWGsC
— ✦ƑorbinяighƬ (@Forbinright) 26 мая 2018 г.
— La France insoumise (@FranceInsoumise) 26 мая 2018 г.
— Camille C (@CamilleClm) 26 мая 2018 г.
The prefecture of the police in Paris estimates the number of participants at 21,000, while CGT trade union believes it to be around 80,000.
READ MORE: Paris Protests: WATCH 'Macron' Set on Fire in French Capital
Rallies, organized by unions and left-wing parties, are taking place across France to protest against the policies of French President Emmanuel Macron.