French police have evacuated the protesters who had been gathering at Paris’s Place de la République over the past 11 nights, and torn down the structures set up on the square.

The police said Monday’s evacuation, which took place after some protesters rioted over the weekend, passed without incident.

Video footage showed officers removing tents and banners installed by the protesters, who started their Occupy-like movement to oppose labour reforms. Demonstrators are, however, planning to resume their sit-in on Monday evening.

Police made eight arrests on Saturday night after about 300 demonstrators rampaged across Paris, attacking a police building, damaging cars and vandalising bank offices. It was not clear whether they had any affiliation to the group called Nuit debout, which loosely means “rise up at night”, that began the square’s occupation.

In an attempt to ease the tensions that have been growing over the labour law proposals, the prime minister, Manuel Valls, met youth organisations a few hours after the evacuation.

Valls announced measures worth between €400m and €500m (£320m-£400m) aimed at improving youth access to employment. “Never has so much been done for youth in this country,” he said.

William Martinet, the leader of the students’ union UNEF, welcomed the proposals as “important measures for the young”.

He insisted, however, that the proposed overhaul of France’s labour code “still isn’t a good bill”, and added that the union was still calling for another day of action across France on 28 April.

Martinet also expressed his support for the Nuit debout action, praising the “thousands of people who are gathering for democratic debates”.