A “yellow vest” demonstrator suffered serious hand injuries after trying to pick up a “sting-ball” grenade during the 13th weekend of protests in France.

The man lost four fingers when the device exploded in the street during clashes with police in the streets near the National Assembly in the centre of Paris.

Mobile phone footage shared on social media showed a protester crouched in pain as medics tended to his severely-damaged hand.

Police said the grenades, which scatter rubber pellets and emit tear gas, were used to disperse protesters after they tried to storm the parliament building.

At least 31 people were arrested, several cars, a scooter, several rubbish bins and a police van were set on fire and some shop windows were smashed.

Around 4,000 people attended the mostly-peaceful march in Paris, with a further 8,000 people taking part in protests across France, according to the Interior Ministry.

A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests Show all 20 1 /20 A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests “Come With Us”: a woman in support of the gilets jaunes holds a placard in Place de la Bastille square in Paris Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A man stands by Place de la République with a photo of a wounded protester around his neck Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests “No to Marine No to Macron! Power to the People”: graffiti on a side wall on the way to Place de la République Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A woman covered in fake blood stands in memory of those wounded by police violence during the gilets jaunes protests Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A volunteer first aid team marches with the gilets jaunes towards Place de la Bastille Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A woman attaches a placard to her jacket with two photos depicting recent violent clashes with the police Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests “Generation Sacrifice – Power to the Yellow Vests family”: a gilets jaunes protester holds placards in Place de la Bastille Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A gilets jaunes protester covers his eye with a bandage in support of Jerome Rodrigues, who was hit in the eye by police and severely wounded Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A woman holds a placard in support of the gilets jaunes march and the right to protest freely Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A man in Place de la Bastille holds a placard in memory of those killed during the gilets jaunes demonstrations. The movement launched protests on 17 November 2018 against rising fuel prices and a planned fuel tax Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A man stands in Place de la République with a bandage covering his eye calling for an end to the use of LBD flashballs by the police Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests “Who will protect us from the police?”: a banner hangs near Place de la République Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A gilets jaunes protester marches with a banner calling for an end to the use of flash balls by the police Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A placard in Place de la Bastille that reads: “What makes us angry? Contempt, lies, injustice and violence” Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests “Without a way, without a voice, without a roof, without a law, without him”: A gilets jaunes protester holds his placard in Place de la Bastille Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A protester wears a yellow vest with the dates of gilets jaunes marches written on the back Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests “Stop the weapons that mutilate”: a gilets jaunes protester holds a placard denouncing police violence Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests Crowds gather in Place de la République for the gilets jaunes ACT XII “Great March of the Wounded” Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A woman holds a placard in support of the change the gilets jaunes are fighting for Angela Christofilou A first-hand look inside the gilets jaunes protests A man marches towards Place de la République holding a placard against the use of grenades by the police at protests Angela Christofilou

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner reacted to the violence by posting on Twitter the words “Indignation and disgust” above a picture of a burning van belonging to the security forces.

“Every day the military ... protects our compatriots from the risk of terrorism. These attacks are intolerable,” Mr Castaner added.

The yellow vest, or gilets jaunes, demonstrations began in mid-November as a protest over fuel taxes but have since widened into a general revolt against Emmanuel Macron and politicians in general.

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“We’re not children, we’re adults,” said Hugues Salone, a computer engineer from Paris who joined the protests. “We really want to assert our choices, and not the choices of the politicians who do not live up to them.”

The protests took place hours after an arson attack on home of Richard Ferrand, president of the National Assembly and a close ally of Mr Macron.

Mr Ferrand posted pictures of his burnt living room on Twitter and said police found a homemade torch at the scene. “Nothing justifies intimidation, nothing justifies violence and degradation,” he added in a statement.

The French president also condemned the “intimidations and violence towards an elected official of the Republic.”

Protests also took place in Latvia, where activists staged a demonstration in front of the French embassy in Riga.

The crowd waved Latvia’s red-and-white flag and shouted: “The French have woken up, while Latvians remain asleep.”