Retailleau announced late on Wednesday that 984 cars went up in flames across the country. Some 420 people were arrested, 310 of whom were taken into police custody, according to AFP.
The minister called the figures unacceptable. "This violence is the product of a brutalization embodied by cowards and thugs who attack the property of often humble French people who do not have the means to protect their vehicles in private car parks."
The event, which like last year had been expected to attract around 1 million people, was largely peaceful, according to initial reports.
Some 10,000 police officers were deployed in the French capital and special security precautions were in place for the party on the main thoroughfare, which was closed to traffic.
MA/PR
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