According to the latest count provided by the local public prosecutor's office, seven injured demonstrators were treated by the emergency services, three of whom were treated as absolute emergencies and hospitalized. 28 police officers were injured, two of them seriously. Two journalists were also injured, Euronews reported.
The protest organizers claim a much higher toll of 200 injured demonstrators, one of whom has been reported as being in a coma, information that has not been confirmed by the authorities.
In a post on Twitter, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne denounced what she described as an "intolerable outpouring of violence", blaming "the irresponsibility of the radical discourse that encourages these acts."
The clashes around the reservoir being built in the rural community of Sainte-Soline, in the Deux-Sevres region, highlighted increasing tensions over water sharing in the face of climate change.
French authorities argue that giant irrigation reservoirs are necessary to allow farmers to continue growing food crops but opponents see the project as an attempt by agribusiness to monopolize water supplies.