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Photos show Paris streets erupting in protest and ‘extreme and unprecedented violence’

Business Insider–  Paris’ streets were engulfed in protest for the third weekend in a row as tensions over gas prices and inequality left the city lined with burnt cars and damaged building.

Around 36,000 people demonstrated on Saturday, leaving French President Emanuel Macron searching for ways to defuse tensions. Around France, the protests have leftthree dead, more than 260 wounded and more than 400 arrested.

The Protests began as a demonstration against rising gas prices but have evolved into a broader anti-government movement.

While Saturday’s protest by the “Yellow Vest” movement had a smaller turnout than those before it, the protests were the most destructive, filling Paris’ famous streets and monuments streets with riot police and tear gas.

The prefect of Paris, Michel Delpuech, told reporters late Sunday that the police had been faced with “extreme and unprecedented violence” and that protesters had thrown hammers and steel ball bearings at them.

Scroll down to see what the protests, and their aftermath, looked like.

The “Yellow Vest” protest movement is made up largely of people that are angry about rising fuel taxes and wider inequality in France

The REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Saturday’s protests took over central Paris. Here, demonstrators are pictured at the Place de l’Etoile.

Saturday's protests took over central Paris. Here, demonstrators are pictured at the Place de l'Etoile.REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Riot police were dispatched to the protests.

Riot police were dispatched to the protests.Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images

Protestors lit fires near the Arc de Triomphe.

Protestors lit fires near the Arc de Triomphe.AP Photo/Thibault Camus

Macron met with police firefighters on Sunday, and visited damaged buildings in the city.

A woman was wounded by a water canon as protesters clashed with riot police.

A woman was wounded by a water canon as protesters clashed with riot police.Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images

Teargas surrounded protestors as they demonstrated.

Teargas surrounded protestors as they demonstrated.Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images

Protestors and the police faced off on Paris’ streets.

Protestors and the police faced off on Paris' streets.REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Firefighters worked to extinguish flaming cars in the center of the city.

Firefighters worked to extinguish flaming cars in the center of the city.Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images

President Macron has asked the prime minister and the main political parties to meet with Yellow Vest representatives in an effort to diffuse the situation.

President Macron has asked the prime minister and the main political parties to meet with Yellow Vest representatives in an effort to diffuse the situation.Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images

Source: CNN.

Those surveying the damage on Sunday found that the protests left burned cars and smashed stores in several of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Paris.

Those surveying the damage on Sunday found that the protests left burned cars and smashed stores in several of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Paris.AP Photo/Thibault Camus

The streets were left lined with vandalized and torched cars.

The streets were left lined with vandalized and torched cars.REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Businesses, like this restaurant, were heavily damaged.

Businesses, like this restaurant, were heavily damaged.REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

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