Police have clashed with stone-throwing youths on the Mediterranean island of Corsica in the latest incident over the planned privatization of a state-owned ferry company.
Police say one police officer was seriously injured. They say the skirmishes occurred as at least several hundred people marched through the city of Bastia to protest the privatization of the National Corsica Mediterranean Company.
Earlier Saturday, riot police backed by armored vehicles and helicopters broke up blockades at the western port of Ajaccio and expelled striking union workers. The port had been blocked for several days, stranding 15,000 tourists on the French run island.
French commandos also broke up blockades at two oil terminals in Marseilles on mainland France where union workers were striking in solidarity with their counterparts in Corsica.
No injuries were reported in either raid.