Eco protest in Paris hijacked by anarchists

Violence erupted on the streets of Paris yesterday after ‘‘black bloc’’ anarchists hijacked a peaceful march by 15,000 climate change activists, setting fire to a barricade in the Latin Quarter and smashing the windows of banks and shops. The incidents occurred hours after riot police used tear gas to drive away gilets jaunes protesters who had tried to demonstrate on the Champs Elysees, on the opposite side of the Seine. Adding to the day of mayhem, several thousand members of far-left union Force Ouvriere turned out to vent their grievances.