Situation getting worse in Paris
Police arrest more than 1,700 protesters after more destruction in the city. > 21
PARIS: French “yellow vest” demonstrators clashed with riot police in Paris in the latest round of protests against President Emmanuel Macron, but the city appeared to have escaped the large-scale destruction of a week earlier due to heavy security.
Protesters nonetheless set fire to cars, burned barricades and smashed windows in pockets of violence across the city centre, clad in their emblematic luminous safety jackets, as armoured vehicles rolled through the streets.
“Dozens of shopkeepers have fallen victim to hooligans,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted. “Once again, this is deplorable.”
Clashes also broke out at protests in other cities including Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse, during a fourth weekend of nationwide protests against rising living costs and Macron in general.
In Paris, shouts of “Macron, resign” mingled with tear gas as thousands massed on the ChampsElysees avenue.
Thick plumes of black smoke from fires rose high into the sky. Numerous shops and a Starbucks cafe were ransacked.
“The weather is crap and so is this government,” a handful of protesters chanted as light rain began to fall. It turned to downpours by mid-evening, scattering many of the remaining demonstrators.
In swift response, more than 1,700 people were arrested across the country during the latest round of “yellow vest” protests, in which demonstrators clashed with riot police, the interior ministry said yesterday.
A total 1,220 of the 1,723 detained were ordered held in custody, the ministry said.
Police in Paris said they made 1,082 arrests on Saturday, up sharply from 412 in the previous round.
The interior ministry said some 136,000 people took part in Saturday’s protests, around the same number as on Dec 1.
But it was Paris which again bore the brunt of the violence and destruction.
The outbreaks of violence were on a smaller scale than the destruction and looting of a week earlier, when some 200 cars were torched in the worst rioting in Paris in decades.
The government had vowed “zero tolerance” for anarchist, farright or other trouble-makers seeking to wreak further havoc at pro- tests that have sparked the deepest crisis of Macron’s presidency.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe congratulated police for the operation, and promised Macron would address the protesters’ concerns.
“The dialogue has begun and it must continue,” Philippe said. “The president will speak, and will propose measures that will feed this dialogue.”
Police reinforcements were boosted to 8,000 across the city, with armoured vehicles deployed in Paris for the first time.
More than 650 protesters were detained in the capital, many of them stopped as they arrived at train stations or meeting points carrying hammers, petanque balls and other potential missiles.
Shops along the Champs-Elysees and central department stores stayed shut with their windows boarded up to avoid looting.
The Eiffel Tower, major museums and many metro stations were also closed as parts of Paris went on effective lockdown.
In Paris, health authorities said 126 people had been admitted to hospital, mostly with minor injuries. Seventeen policemen were also hospitalised.
The movement has spread beyond France’s borders, with around 400 arrested at a “yellow vest” protest in Brussels on Saturday and peaceful demonstrations taking place in Dutch towns. — AFP