Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in anti-austerity protests across France, urging President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to acknowledge their anger and scrap looming budget cuts.
Teachers, train drivers, pharmacists and hospital staff were among those who went on strike as part of the day of actions, while teenagers blocked dozens of schools for hours.
Protesters and unions called for the previous government's fiscal plans to be scrapped, more spending on public services, higher taxes on the wealthy and the reversal of an unpopular change making people work longer to get a pension.
"The anger is immense, and so is the determination. My message to Mr Lecornu today is this: it's the streets that must decide the budget," head of the CGT union Sophie Binet said.
The CGT said that one million people took part in the strikes and protests. Authorities estimated the number of demonstrators at about half that number.
There were clashes on the margins of the rallies, but the level of violence was not as high as Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau had feared.
"I would like to emphasise that in almost all cases, marches and demonstrations took place under favourable conditions," he said.
Mr Lecornu - appointed just over a week ago - is attempting to put together a budget for next year, as well as a new government.
On social media, he said that he would meet unions again "in the coming days, adding: "The demands made by the union representatives and echoed by demonstrators in the marches are at the heart of the consultations I have initiated."
Mr Lecornu and President Macron are under pressure on one side from protesters and left-wing parties opposed to budget cuts and, on the other, from investors concerned about the deficit in the euro zone's second-largest economy.
Parliament is deeply divided and none of its three main groups has a majority.
"This is a warning, a clear warning to Sebastien Lecornu," said Marylise Leon, head of the CFDT, France's largest union. "We want a socially fair budget."
One in three primary school teachers was on strike nationwide and nearly one in two walked off the job in Paris, the FSU-SNUipp union said.
Regional trains were heavily affected, while most of the country's high-speed train lines worked, officials said.
Protesters gathered to slow down traffic on a motorway near the southeastern city of Toulon.
In Paris, police on several occasions threw teargas to disperse a crowd dressed in black who threw missiles at them. Officers also stepped in to stop people from targeting banks.
There were brief clashes on the margins of other protests, including in Nantes, and in Lyon, where French media said that three people were injured.
More than 180 people were arrested, the interior ministry said. Some 80,000 police officers were set to be deployed throughout the day, including riot units, drones and armoured vehicles.
France's budget deficit last year was close to double the European Union's 3% ceiling but much as he wants to reduce that, Mr Lecornu - reliant on other parties to push through legislation - will face a battle to gather parliamentary support for a budget.
His predecessor, Francois Bayrou, was ousted by parliament last week over his plan for a €44 billion budget squeeze.
The new prime minister has not yet said what he will do with Mr Bayrou's plans, but has signalled a willingness to compromise.
