A man who fired on police officers in a Paris train station with a pellet gun was wounded today when officers returned fire, police officials said.

French riot police firing tear gas and brandishing batons clashed with bands of youths who shattered windows and looted shops at a major Paris train station.

Some 2,000 angry students massed on railway tracks in Paris today, stopping international train traffic in a new push to force a contested youth labour law off the books.