French riots spread

Paris still the core of protest as movement spills over borders

More than 1,700 people were arrested across France during the latest round of “yellow vest” clashes with riot police at the weekend.

Clashes broke out in several cities, including Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse, during a fourth weekend of nationwide protests against rising living costs and President Emmanuel Macron in general.

But it was Paris which again bore the brunt of the violence and destruction.

Protesters in the capital set fire to cars, burnt barricades and smashed windows in pockets of violence, clad in their emblematic luminous safety jackets, as armoured vehicles rolled through the streets.

Thick plumes of black smoke from fires rose high into the sky as police fired tear gas, while numerous shops and a Starbucks cafe were ransacked.

The Eiffel Tower, major museums and many metro stations were also closed as parts of Paris went on effective lockdown.

The embattled president – whose name rang out across the Champs-Elysées as protesters shouted “Macron, resign” – is expected to address the demonstrations in a much-anticipated speech in the coming days.

According to the UK’s Times newspaper, hundreds of online accounts linked to Russia were used to stoke the demonstrations.

Citing analysis by New Knowledge, a cybersecurity company, the Times said the accounts spread disinformation and used pictures of injured protesters from other events to enhance a narrative of brutality by French authorities.

The movement has spread beyond France’s borders, with about 400 arrested at a “yellow vest” event in Brussels on Saturday and peaceful demonstrations taking place in Dutch towns.

People began blockading French roads on November 17 over rising fuel prices – partly due to taxes aimed at helping the country’s transition to a lower-carbon economy.

But the demonstrations have since swollen into a broad movement against ex-banker Macron, whom the protesters accuse of favouring the rich.

Macron this week gave in to some of the protesters’ demands for measures to help the poor and struggling middleclasses, including scrapping a planned increase in fuel taxes.

That climb-down marked a major departure for a president who had vowed, unlike predecessors, not to be swayed by mass protests. –