protestors

Tear gas was fired in the city as demonstrators defied an order banning the "Freedom Convoy".

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 300 tickets had been handed out and 54 people arrested.

Authorities have deployed more than 7,000 officers over the next three days in a bid to stop the demonstrators.

Despite those efforts, some vehicles managed to arrive at the Arc de Triomphe in the city, and tear gas was fired at demonstrators on the nearby Champs-Élysées avenue.

RNZ Honiara correspondent Georgina Kekea said the protest was being led primarily by people from Malaita Province who said they were not being heard by the national government.

Most schools and businesses in the capital were closed today while large crowds clashed with police as they tried to access the grounds of parliament, where parliament's house is currently sitting.

"I think a lot of Honiara residents were caught by surprise with what has happened today. It has really disrupted operations... and now people are not feeling safe anymore," Kekea said.

The announcement comes after protesters rushed up the steps of the U.S. Capitol as Congress debated the presidential vote count. 

“Today what we witnessed was riotous and unlawful behavior,” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said.

NBC reports the curfew will be in effect until 6 a.m. Thursday. 

“I continue to urge all Washingtonians to stay home and stay calm, and if you see something, say something,” Bowser said in an address to the city. “But above all, stay home."

Protesters blocked roads and paralysed train services at peak times on a day of action across the city.

More than 200 flights were cancelled as the protests entered their ninth week.

Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, has pledged to restore law and order, rejecting calls for her resignation.

Initially the demonstrations, which began on 9 June, focused on a controversial extradition law, which would have allowed the transfer of suspects to mainland China. However, the protests have now become a wider challenge to Beijing's authority.

OVD-Info said the number of the detentions it logged for Saturday's protest reached 1,373 by early Sunday. The group has monitored arrests since 2011.

Russian police violently dispersed thousands of people who thronged Moscow streets on Saturday to protest election authorities for disqualifying independent candidates from the September 8 election for the Moscow city council.

Several protesters reported broken limbs and head injuries. Police justified their response by saying the rally was not sanctioned by authorities.