Protesters have clashed with police in Paris during demonstrations after three people were shot dead at a Kurdish cultural centre.

Kurdish activists, left-wing politicians and anti-racism groups took to the streets of the French capital in protest at the shooting, which is believed to have been racially motivated.

Three other people were wounded in the attack, and concerns about hate crime in the country have arisen as a result.

A man aged 69, who was known to authorities, has been arrested over the incident and faces potential murder and attempted murder charges with a racist motive, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

He was wounded during the shooting and is in custody.

Thousands gathered at the Place de la Republique in eastern Paris on Christmas Eve, waving a range of flags representing Kurdish rights groups, political parties and other causes.

The gathering was largely peaceful, but some youths threw projectiles and skirmished with police firing tear gas, while others shouted slogans against the Turkish government.

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Some demonstrators managed to flip a police car.

The Kurdish community has been shaken by the attack, with police seeking to abate their fears by putting officers on extra alert for the Christmas weekend.

The attack on Friday happened at the cultural centre and a nearby restaurant and hair salon, with Gerald Darmanin, the interior minister, saying the suspect was clearly targeting foreigners.

Kurdish activists said they had recently been warned by police of threats to Kurdish locations.

In 2013, three Kurdish activists, including Sakine Cansiz, a founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were found shot dead in Paris.

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