Another Singaporean, who was in Paris for work and declined to be named, described being caught in tear gas near Place de la Republique.
The 33-year-old was meeting up with a friend who lived near the protest areas.
At the square, she saw police barricades but said people were still allowed to enter and leave.
The atmosphere initially appeared peaceful.
That changed when she heard screams and saw people suddenly running towards her.
“The next thing I saw was the tear gas was thrown towards our direction … The tear gas, when I first smelled it, it was choking on the throat and on the chest, and then slowly it affects the eyes,” she told CNA.
She said she and her friend tried to escape but were pushed back by police and directed from one side of the square to another before eventually being allowed out.
During the ordeal, strangers offered them eye drops, she recalled.
Mr Edwin Ho, 40, who has lived in Paris for four years, said the latest unrest felt different from previous demonstrations he had witnessed.
“I do feel like this time was a little bit different … I think people were much more affected this time round than past protests that I’ve seen,” he said.
Although his neighbourhood was spared from the worst of the unrest, metro closures forced him to cancel plans and stay home over the weekend.
Mr Ho felt that the destruction and chaos had overshadowed the causes that peaceful protesters were fighting for. “It wasn’t what people expected it to be,” he added.
