Fears of trouble at the latest student fees march eased after police swamped demonstrations to keep a lid on violence.
Protesters accused Scotland Yard of "ludicrous" tactics as officers appeared to outnumber them in central London.
But the strategy appeared to work, with only 24 arrests for minor incidents as numbers dwindled.
Less than a third of the 10,000 expected demonstrators were estimated to have turned up after force chiefs announced 4,000 officers had been made available.
Skirmishes broke out as officers made several arrests moving a group who set up camps in Trafalgar Square by pitching pop-up tents.
There were also violent exchanges as anarchists threw items at police lines.
But many demonstrators were thought to have stayed away after chiefs warned that rubber bullets were available after major disturbances in November and December last year.
Demonstrator Beth Atkinson, 27, from London, said: "It is ludicrous. It is antagonistic, it is like they are egging on a fight, which is frankly embarrassing."
Oxford graduate Ariadne Mitchell-Kotsakis, 24, also hit out at the "overwhelming" police presence.
Ms Mitchell-Kotsakis, who said she decided to join the march in "solidarity" with students after her brother was jailed for violent disorder following the last fees protest, added: "I think it's too much."
