POLICE USE TEAR GAS DURING PROTESTS IN LYON

LYON, NOVEMBER 7 /SRNA/ - Police fired tear gas at protesters in Lyon demonstrating against rising prices, BFMTV television reported.

Earlier, the Lyon authorities had banned demonstrations in the city centre, citing an "increased security threat."

French authorities expect up to 170,000 people to take part in protests against the rising cost of living across the country today, including 60,000 in Paris.

Protests began in France in mid-September, when high school students took to the streets in Parisian suburbs, demanding improvements in school conditions.

The protests soon escalated into mass demonstrations across the country, many of them violent, prompting authorities to step up security measures and detain hundreds of people.