The suspect was a Syrian refugee granted asylum in Sweden 10 years ago and in France legally, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne says.

Between 400,000 and 600,000 people are expected to turn out at protests across France, authorities say, which would be down from more than a million who took part in marches at the height of the pension protests.

Collecting information about ethnicity or religious beliefs is generally prohibited in France under the country's anti-discrimination laws.

The ban may form part of a new anti-smoking plan the health ministry is working on for the coming five years.

At least 108 police were wounded, 25 in Paris, and 291 people detained across France.

The ruling paves the way for Macron to sign into law the unpopular changes that have sparked months of protests and strikes.

France's labour unions have been staging strikes and marches since mid-January in protest against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to raise the legal retirement age.

Macron will give a speech on European sovereignty that will be closely watched after he said in an interview that Europe must not be a 'follower' of either Washington or Beijing on Taiwan.

Footage showed clouds of smoke rising from the rubble as firefighters tried to put out the fire, while trained dogs were used to try to locate victims.

Macron has said during his trip that Beijing can play a 'major role' in finding a path to peace in the conflict and welcomed China's 'willingness to commit to a resolution'.

Protests against the reform - which lifts the retirement age by two years to 64 - have drawn crowds of hundreds of thousands in rallies organised by unions since January, and at times turned violent.

The protest movement against the pension reform has turned into the biggest domestic crisis of Macron's second mandate, with police and protesters clashing daily in Paris and other cities over the past week.