Moscow began distributing the Sputnik V COVID-19 shot via 70 clinics on Saturday, marking Russia's first mass vaccination against the disease, the city's coronavirus task force said.
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The task force said the Russian-made vaccine would first be made available to doctors and other medical workers, teachers and social workers because they ran the highest risk of exposure to the disease.
"You are working at an educational institution and have top-priority for the COVID-19 vaccine, free of charge," read a phone text message received by one Muscovite, an elementary school teacher, early on Saturday and seen by Reuters.
Moscow, the epicentre of Russia's coronavirus outbreak, registered 7,993 new cases overnight, up from 6,868 a day before and well above the daily tallies of around 700 seen in early September.
"Over the first five hours, 5,000 people signed up for the jab --teachers, doctors, social workers, those who are today risking their health and lives the most," Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his personal website on Friday.
The age for those receiving shots is capped at 60. People with certain underlying health conditions, pregnant women and those who have had a respiratory illness for the past two weeks are barred from vaccination.
Russia has developed two COVID-19 vaccines, Sputnik V which is backed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund and another developed by Siberia's Vector Institute, with final trials for the both yet to be completed.
Scientists have raised concerns about the speed at which Russia has worked, giving the regulatory go-ahead for its vaccines and launching mass vaccinations before full trials to test its safety and efficacy had been completed.
The Sputnik V vaccine is administered in two injections, with the second dose is expected to be given 21 days after the first.
Moscow closed down all public places including parks and cafes, with exception for delivery, in late March, with police patrolling the streets looking for whose violating the rules. Restrictions were eased from mid-June, however.
Russia as a whole reported 28,782 new infections on Saturday, its highest daily tally, pushing the national total to 2,431,731, the fourth-highest in the world.
In October, certain restrictions such as remote learning for some secondary school children and a 30% limit on the number of workers allowed in offices were introduced again.
"The thugs are breaking down the Republic," he said.
Sixty-four people were detained across the country, Darmanin said, adding that eight police were injured.
'No contradiction'
It was one of almost 100 protests planned throughout France against the new security law with thousands gathering in cities includling Montpellier, Marseille and Nantes, where two police were wounded by a Molotov cocktail.
French police had been deployed in force to avert trouble after the violent clashes erupted during the demonstration in Paris a week ago that saw dozens wounded.
Media freedom and human rights groups have led protests for weeks to have the government scrap or revise a bill that would restrict the filming of police, saying it would make it harder to prosecute cases of abuse.
After four French police officers were charged on November 30 over the beating and racial abuse of black music producer Michel Zecler, lawmakers from Macron's party pledged a "complete rewrite" of part of the draft law.
"There isn't a day when we don't hear about police brutality," said Amal Bentounsi, who founded a collective for victims of police brutality.
"This law on security targets those who have been subjected to repression for years, especially in working-class neighbourhoods," she added.
The beating of Zecler has acted as a rallying cause for people angered by alleged institutionalised racism in the police, who actvists acccuse of singling out black and arab men for checks.
But the protest also brought together unionists and yellow vest activists, with CGT union leader Philippe Martinez saying several causes were coming together.
"There is no contradiction between public and individual freedoms and the need to fight job insecurity and unemployment," Martinez told AFP.
Not 'reducing freedoms'
The new clashes came after Macron gave a hugely-anticipated interview on Friday to Brut, a video-based news portal aimed at young people.
Macron said "there are police who are violent" and insisted that "they need to be punished".
He acknowledged that "when you have a skin color that is not white, you are stopped much more (by police). You are identified as a problem factor. And that cannot be justified."
But he also lashed out at the violence against police at last weekend's rally in Paris, which he blamed on "crazy people".