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Dramatic video captured by Ruptly depicts the enormous scale of the disruption in the southern French city as streets descend into war zones. One man is seen with blood pouring from his nose and slashing down his cheeks. Another's face is pressed hard against the paving stones as the police restrain him.

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The chaos marks the 26th straight weekend of "yellow vest" protests against President Emmanuel Macron and his economic reform agenda.

In Nantes, black-hooded demonstrators on the fringes of a largely peaceful protest hurled bottles and smashed shop windows, while in Lyon tear gas swirled as police tried to funnel protesters away from the central Place Bellecour.

Six months after the grassroot rebellion erupted over the high cost of living and Mr Macron's perceived indifference toward the plight of working class France, the movement is losing momentum.

Saturday's apparently low turnout nationwide will be a relief to President Macron, little more than two weeks out from European elections. The far-right, polling neck-and-neck with Macron's party, is billing the vote as a referendum on his first two years in office.