Riot debris covers Paris; 133 injured

Paris, Dec. 2: Police said on Sunday that 133 people were injured and 412 arrested as protesters trashed the streets of the capital during France's worst urban riot in years.

French President Emmanuel Macron was holding an emergency meeting on security later on Sunday with his prime minister and interior minister. He vowed that those responsible for the violence and the damages will pay for their actions.

A protest against rising taxes and the high cost of living turned into a riot Saturday in the most popular tourist areas of the French capital. Activists wearing yellow jackets torched cars, smashed windows, looted stores, threw rocks at police and tagged the Arc de Triomphe with multicoloured graffiti. Police responded with tear gas and water cannon, closing down dozens of streets and Metro stations as they tried to contain the riot.

Police said 23 police officers were among the injured and 378 of the arrested have been put in police custody.

By Sunday morning, Paris city employees were cleaning up the graffiti on the Arc de Triomphe. One read: “Yellow jackets will triumph” - a reference to the fluorescent yellow vests that protesters are wearing to demand relief for France's beleaguered workers.

Some of Paris' major avenues near the Arc de Triomphe and streets around the famed Champs- Elysees Avenue and the Tuileries garden were littered with piles of debris and burned cars. Graffiti was also sprayed on many storefronts and buildings.

G o v e r n m e n t spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Saturday's violence was due to those who hijacked the protest, people who came “to loot, break and hit police forces.”