A Boss menswear store and the gourmet Fouquet’s restaurant were among the premises vandalised as groups of masked protesters lobbed stones at police defending the Arc de Triomphe war memorial.
The police responded with teargas and water cannon but failed to disperse the more radical protesters who erected burning barricades in scenes reminiscent of the worst "yellow vest" riots in the capital in December.
The rally was called to coincide with the end of two months of public debates called by President Emmanuel Macron to give voters a forum to air their grievances and propose policy changes.
The protesters have dismissed the debates as a smoke-screen.
Saturday’s turnout will be seen as a measure of the power of the "yellow vest" movement, which began in November over fuel tax hikes but quickly ballooned into a broader anti-government rebellion.
Thousands of people converged on the Champs-Elysees focal point of the Paris protests over the past four months for "Act XVIII" of a movement which had appeared to be running out of steam but whose core demands still enjoy broad public support.