(CNN) French President Emmanuel Macron has asked Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to meet with heads of political parties and representatives of the so-called "yellow vests" in an attempt to defuse tensions that erupted into violent protests over the weekend.

Around 36,000 people took part in protests across the country on Saturday, but while the turnout was lower than the previous two weekends, protesters clashed with police, torching cars, erecting roadblocks and burning barricades.

The unrest has transformed from dissent over rising gas prices and eco-taxes into a broader demonstration against Macron, his government, and tensions between the metropolitan elite and rural poor.

Speaking on France's Europe 1 radio Sunday, spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said the government was considering "all options" to prevent "serious outbursts of violence," including introducing a state of emergency.

A burned-out car sits in a Paris street the day after riots spread through the city.

Griveaux said that between 1,000 and 1,500 people joined Saturday's demonstrations "only to fight with the police, to break and loot." He added that those protesters "have nothing to do with the yellow vests."

Yellow vests or "gilets jaunes" refers to the high visibility vests drivers in France are required to keep in their cars for safety reasons, should their cars break down.

Almost 400 people were arrested in Saturday's riots.

As part of his response, Macron has asked the Ministry of the Interior to develop a policing plan to counter any further protests, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. No date has yet been set for the meeting between Philippe and the yellow vests, BFMTV reported.

Photos: In photos: Protests in France A yellow vest demonstrator faces riot police officers in Marseille, France, on Saturday, January 5, 2019. Hide Caption 1 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Riot police stand in tear gas in Toulouse, France, during a protest January 5. Hide Caption 2 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Yellow vest protestors kneel in Lyon on January 5. About 50,000 people demonstrated throughout France on Saturday, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. Hide Caption 3 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters warm their hands over a burning tree in a Paris street on January 5. Hide Caption 4 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A firefighter tries to extinguish a burning car in a street in Paris on January 5. Hide Caption 5 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters confront police during a "yellow vest" demonstration Saturday, December 22, in central Paris. Hide Caption 6 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Demonstrators rally in the Montmartre area of Paris on December 22. Hide Caption 7 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters block a highway near the French border with Spain on December 22 in Biriatou, France. Hide Caption 8 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Demonstators turn out December 22 near toll booths on the A9 highway in Le Boulou, France. Hide Caption 9 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters gather December 15 at Place de l'Opera in Paris. Hide Caption 10 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Activists dressed like Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic, face riot police on December 15 in Paris. Hide Caption 11 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Demonstrators wearing yellow vests form a human tower December 15 on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Hide Caption 12 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A police water cannon sprays demonstrators on December 15 in Paris. Hide Caption 13 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters take part in a demonstration on December 15 in Paris. Hide Caption 14 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Demonstrators run through tear gas during scuffles with police December 15 on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Hide Caption 15 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Police use tear gas on protesters at the Place de l'Opera in Paris on December 15. Hide Caption 16 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A protester waves the French national flag during a demonstration on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on December 15. Hide Caption 17 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France French police apprehend a man on December 8 during a protest in Paris. Hide Caption 18 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters wearing yellow vests gather on December 8 in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Hide Caption 19 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Demonstrators drop flat to the ground on the Champs-Elysees avenue during a protest on Saturday, December 8, in Paris. Hide Caption 20 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters install a barricade during clashes with police at a demonstration in Paris on December 8. Hide Caption 21 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters gather on December 8 in Paris. Hide Caption 22 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A demonstrator is covered in blood after getting in injured during a protest in Paris on December 8. Hide Caption 23 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters wearing yellow vests walk on the Champs-Elysees Avenue with the Arc de Triomphe in the background during a protest on December 8. Hide Caption 24 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Two demonstrators dance in front a group as they take part on December 8 in the demonstration at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Hide Caption 25 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A protester reacts during clashes with police on December 8 in Paris. Hide Caption 26 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France French gendarmes apprehend a protester on December 8 in Paris. Hide Caption 27 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters throw objects at riot police on Saturday, December 1, during a demonstration that turned violent when protestors clashed with police in Paris. Hide Caption 28 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France An injured woman sits on the ground as police officers spray yellow vest protesters with tear gas during a protest in Paris on December 1. Hide Caption 29 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A burned car is left in the street a day after the yellow vests demonstration against rising oil prices and living costs in Paris on December 1. Hide Caption 30 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Firemen work to extinguish a burning car on December 1. Hide Caption 31 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A demonstrator leaves as water cannons evacuate the Place de l'Etoile on December 1. Hide Caption 32 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A demonstrator watches a burning car near the Champs-Elysees avenue on December 1. Hide Caption 33 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Riot police officers stand in position during clashes with demonstrators on December 1. Hide Caption 34 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Protesters and police clash in downtown Paris on December 1 during a national demonstration. Hide Caption 35 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France Hooded demonstrators smash a car. Hide Caption 36 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A demonstrator throws a projectile during the December 1 protest. Hide Caption 37 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France A demonstrator treats a wounded man during a protest where police and demonstrators clashed, injuring dozens on December 1. Hide Caption 38 of 39 Photos: In photos: Protests in France French gendarmes apprehend a protester in Paris on December 1. Hide Caption 39 of 39

The protests were initially conceived in response to rising fuel prices. The cost of diesel has surged 16% this year from an average 1.24 euros ($1.41) per liter to 1.48 euros ($1.69), even hitting 1.53 euros in October, according to UFIP, France's oil industry federation.

The price hike is largely caused by a leap in the wholesale price of oil, with Brent crude oil -- a benchmark for worldwide oil purchases -- increasing by more than 20% in the first half of 2018 from around $60 a barrel to a peak of $86.07 in early October.

Macron has borne the brunt of the demonstrators' anger instead of OPEC for reducing oil production, or the US for imposing tariffs on Iran, which crippled oil exports.

Many protesters are angry with the president for extending the environmental policies that were first implemented by former President François Hollande.

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President: Tributes to police

The weekend saw the protests in the French capital descend into violence, with buildings cars set alight, and, authorities say, attacks on citizens.

The city's famed Arc de Triomphe -- a flashpoint in Saturday's violent protests -- was also vandalized, scrawled with slogans in support of the yellow vest movement and others criticizing Macron as the President "of the rich."

Upon his return to Paris from the G20 meeting, Macron immediately visited the war monument to "take stock of the damage" and pay tribute to the tomb of the unknown soldier at its base, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported. He also met with police officers and firefighters who worked to contain the protests.

French President Emmanuel Macron waves as he leaves the Cafe Belloy, near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Sunday.

Macron also held an emergency security meeting with top officials on Sunday. In a written statement he paid tribute to law enforcement and rescue teams who "showed unrelenting bravery throughout the day and evening," according to a release from the French Presidency.

The statement also said that Macron "stressed the importance of judicial follow-up so that none of the acts committed remains unpunished."

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Arrested rioters to face 'immediate trial'

French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet said that the unrest was "absolutely unacceptable," but added that she would not yet recommend announcing a state of emergency, stressing that there were "alternatives," without elaborating what else was being considered.

"When there are not only defacements that are absolutely unacceptable in our republic, I think of what happened at the Arc de Triomphe, when there are fires, not only cars -- there have been 55 vehicles burned but also buildings that have been burned, when there are attacks on people, including I think a rape, these are elements that cannot be acceptable in our republic."

Workers clean grafitti off the Arc de Triomphe.

Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz alleged that among the protesters were people from across the country who had descended upon Paris with the express intent of causing trouble. He added that authorities would crack down hardest on those who had joined the street demonstrations explicitly carry out violent acts.

"There are varied profiles but there are definitely profiles of people who have come from the provinces all over France, obviously to carry out acts of violence, and it is to these people that the criminal response I will say will be the strongest."