Paris police reported a fire near the Gare de Lyon train station, which was partially evacuated after violence broke out on the margins of a banned protest against a Congolese artist giving a concert nearby.
"Avoid the area and allow the emergency services to intervene," the police said on Twitter, later saying the fire had been brought under control and was "being extinguished."
Police said it had intervened to stop protesters who set alight garbage bins and scooters, releasing a thick, black smoke cloud over the city centre.
The SCNF train service operator said the underground section of the Gare de Lyon was evacuated as a precautionary measure.