France on high alert as Paris march begins in uneasy calm

A sea of demonstrators packed the southern edge of Paris on Saturday as protests got under way in an uneasy festive mood, with early marches remaining peaceful even as heavily reinforced police braced for potential unrest across the country. Elsewhere in France, police began dispersing unauthorised gatherings in Lyon and Nice, firing tear gas in Lyon as demonstrators defied local protest bans. French authorities expect up to half a million people to hit the streets on Saturday across the...