Scattered violence at end of French protests

PARIS, Mar 18 (Reuters) Violence broke out at the end of the main French march against a new job law in Paris on today, with youths burning a car and smashing a shop window despite a heavy police presence.

Another car was damaged near the Nation square in eastern Paris where the protest, which trade union organisers estimated at 400,000-strong, ended up after a festive and orderly march during the afternoon.

A large student protest in Paris on Thursday ended in several hours of clashes between police and masked troublemakers, but less unrest was expected at Saturday's march because experienced crowd marshals helped organise it.

Other scattered violence was reported from Marseille, where police used tear gas to scatter far-left activists who replaced the city hall's tricolour French flag with a black and red banner reading ''anti-capitalism and self-management''.

In the western city of Rennes, protesters blocked a railway line for about one hour and a large group attacked the local office of the governing UMP party before police used tear gas to scatter them.

''This will discredit the movement when the media talk about the broken windows and burned cars,'' said Nicolas Aubry, 20, a Paris student. ''This works against what we are marching for.'' REUTERS CH RN2344