Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Scuffles mark anniversary of France’s protests
PARIS — Scuffles between Paris police and activists on Saturday marred the anniversary of the birth of the yellow-vest movement against government policies seen as favoring the rich.
On a day of largely peaceful demonstrations across France, there were a few violent incidents in the capital that ended with police firing tear gas and water cannons.
Paris Police Chief Didier Lallement denounced “people who came not to defend a cause but to destruct things” and deplored “attacks against security forces but also against firefighters.”
Police used tear gas as protesters tried to smash windows and enter a shopping mall. Some protesters were seen throwing stones at officers and setting fire to vehicles, trash cans and other items on Place d’Italie, in the capital’s southeast.
Earlier, the windows of a bank and several bus shelters in the area had been broken
Police dislodged protesters trying to block the bypass around Paris on Saturday morning and were progressively emptying Place d’Italie during the afternoon.
Lallement noted that most protesters marched in a “quite serene” atmosphere in a demonstration from northwestern Paris to Bastille plaza, in the capital’s east.
Police had detained 105 people by late afternoon, and 71 people had been fined for protesting in a forbidden area. All demonstrations were banned in a large area including the Champs-Elysees, the presidential palace and both houses of Parliament.
Demonstrations were taking place around the country at traffic circles where the movement first took root in November 2018 in protest against plans to raise fuel taxes. For weeks, the protesters brought large parts of the country to a standstill. The outpouring of anger at perceived social and economic injustice eventually prompted President Emmanuel Macron to reverse some of his tax plans and to offer $11 billion in measures to address protesters’ concerns.
On Saturday, some protesters in Paris wore the high-visibility vests that drivers are required to carry in their cars and that gave the movement its name. Other demonstrators wore all black, their faces protected with gas masks.
Waving French flags, blowing whistles and beating drums, some demonstrators marched in northwestern Paris streets, singing their trademark song: “We are here, we are here. Even if Macron doesn’t want it, we are here.”
Dozens of police in riot gear guarded the Arc de Triomphe overlooking the Champs-Elysees, which was the scene of weekly rioting and police crackdowns at the height of last year’s protests.
Corentin Pihel, 28, said he traveled to Paris from Montpellier to mark the movement’s anniversary. He joined the yellow-vest movement two weeks after it began, identifying with its mission as a struggling student at the time. “In the beginning, I found that the movement made a lot of sense, to mobilize from the bottom for better buying power,” Pihel said. “But after, it enlarged its communication to become much greater — it’s just people who want to live. And I felt a real solidarity.”
Cathy Nauleau, 44, went to Paris from eastern France to participate because “we’re still exactly in the same place, but we won’t give up.”
The French government has also pledged to cut taxes for households next year by $9.8 billion, a spending boost that has its roots in the yellow-vest movement.