ACTS OF ANARCHY MAR PEACEFUL ‘YELLOW VEST’ PROTEST IN FRANCE
Acts of anarchy marred a largely peaceful march of demonstrators as yellow-vested Frenchmen staged their 19th weekend of protests against President Emmanuel Macron.
More than 40,000 people took to the streets across France—5,000 of them in the capital—but there was nothing of the rioting and looting that marred last week’s rally in Paris, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.
Protest organizers estimated the nationwide turnout much higher at more than 127,200.
Calm Right Bank protest
Most of the “yellow vest” protests were relatively calm but scuffles broke out in Paris in the afternoon.
Police fired tear gas against hooded demonstrators, many wearing gas masks or helmets.
A 75-year-old woman was seriously injured in the southern city of Nice when she fell and hit her head during a police charge.
Castaner said 172 people were detained nationwide and hundreds questioned or fined.
Authorities had vowed zero tolerance of any violence, outlawing the protests in a large area of Paris for the first time.
That included the ChampsElysees, the scene of last Saturday’s rampage by hundreds of black-clad agitators.
This time, around 6,000 security forces backed by armored vehicles and water cannon were mobilized in the capital, where a march ended at the Sacre-Coeur basilica with few incidents.
Police later blocked off a boulevard where dozens of protesters set fire to rubbish bins before fleeing toward the Place de la Republique, where they gradually dispersed.
One officer suffered a heart attack at the scene and was taken to hospital in serious condition, a police source told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
At least 70 people were detained in the capital, while around 50 were given fines—which the government hiked by decree this week to 135 euros ($153) from 38 euros—for protesting in the outlawed sectors, the police said.
Across the country
Protest bans were also in effect in the centers of Toulouse, Bordeaux, Dijon, Rennes and the southern city of Nice, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to meet Macron.
Dozens of people who defied the ban at Nice’s Garibaldi square near the port were quickly surrounded by security forces and later dispersed, with 75 people arrested.
Clashes also broke out in other cities including Bordeaux, Nantes and Montpellier.
Macron was under pressure to avoid a repeat of last week’s rioting on the Champs-Elysees, where over 100 shops were damaged, looted or set alight.
The government said 32,000 people joined in the demonstrations last weekend nationwide with 10,000 in Paris.