A demonstrator from the English Defence League is moved by police as anti right wing groups and members of the English Defence League hold opposing rallies in in Manchester (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Supporters of the English Defence League, a new group which stages street protests against what it terms "radical Islam," clashed with anti-racism campaigners.
Police said around 2,000 rival protesters had congregated in the Piccadilly Gardens area of the city. The two groups were being kept apart by a line of police in riot helmets, a Reuters photographer at the scene said.
Most of those arrested have been held on suspicion of public order offences, police said.
"The presence of so many protesters in the city has proved a challenge and while many have turned out to protest peacefully the police reaction has been necessary in order to prevent the few hell-bent on violent confrontation," Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said in a statement.
Police described many of those arrested as "agitators and trouble-makers."
The English Defence League sprang up this year after a small group from a local Muslim community staged a protest in the southern town of Luton against soldiers returning from Iraq.
The far right has made political progress this year, with the British National Party winning two seats in the European parliament.
Experts on community relations fear a rise in tensions between working class whites and immigrant communities could lead to further violence in the run-up to an election due by next June.
