French riot police on Saturday used teargas at hundreds of demonstrators protesting an airport project in a protected swampland in Nantes, a city in western France.

The incident came as about 500 protestors had set up camp at the 1,650-hectare site in Notre-Dame-des-Landes outside Nantes and refused to leave the area where the government planned to build a new airport.

According to Nantes prefecture, three people were injured and eight protestors were arrested during the demonstrations that started on Friday. Clashes between police and demonstrators resumed on Saturday morning.

In the face of persistent violent refusal of the airport project, the Socialists remained determined to set on the ground the 580-million-euro (753-million-U.S. dollar) scheme expected to be finished in 2017 and receive 4 million passengers per year.

In a joint statement, Ecology Minister Delphine Batho, Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier and Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll confirmed "the need to continue the progress of the project to transfer the airport of Nantes Atlantique to the site of Notre-Dame-Landes."

Speaking to the local broadcaster Europe 1, Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the squatters, "professionals in this type of protest," should not be allowed to "install a real rear base" with their sole purpose being to "carry out acts of violence."

Early this month, 13,500 protestors flew to Notre-Dame-des-Landes in a move to force authorities to bow to their demand and drop out the airport project.

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