A suspect linked to a far-left movement has been arrested in France after a 19th-century city hall was gutted by fire during mass disorder over the weekend.

The clock tower and parts of the roof of the ornate city hall in the central city of Limoges were engulfed in flames before collapsing on Saturday.

The 34-year-old suspect is known to police for acts of violence against public officials and is listed on the "S" watchlist, a French national security register, according to reports.

In Marseille, a curfew for young people was introduced on Tuesday evening. The city's mayor, Benoît Payan, said the prefect had decided to impose the measure "starting this evening and for days to come."

He said the curfew applies to minors and will be enforced only in commercial areas of the city, which were particularly affected by looting that took place last weekend.

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 149 people were in detention following widespread demonstrations over the weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest against rising fuel prices, the cost of living, and deteriorating public services, including schools.

Darmanin previously said he had asked prosecutors to be "extremely firm" and "ruthless towards those who attacked police officers, gendarmes and firefighters, who looted shops and who attacked public buildings."

The justice minister insisted France did not need to be placed under a state of emergency, which he said would "deprive all French people of their individual freedoms."

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, however, had earlier said he had not ruled out imposing a state of emergency.