A DIVIDED FRANCE IN CHAOS
Macron set to make announcement this week as clean-up begins after riots
PARIS tourist sites reopened, workers cleaned up broken glass and shop owners tried to put the city on its feet again yesterday, a day after running battles between yellow-vested protesters and riot police left 71 injured and caused widespread damage in the French capital.
PARIS tourist sites reopened, workers cleaned up broken glass and shop owners tried to put the city on its feet again yesterday, a day after running battles between yellow-vested protesters and riot police left 71 injured and caused widespread damage in the French capital.
President Emmanuel Macron, broke his silence to tweet his appreciation for the police overnight, but pressure mounted on him to propose new solutions to calm the anger dividing France.
TV footage broadcast around the world of the violence in Paris neighbourhoods popular with tourists is tarnishing the country’s image.
France deployed 89 000 police but still failed to deter the determined protesters. About 125 000 yellow vests took to the streets on Saturday around France with a bevy of demands related to high living costs and a sense that Macron favours the elite and is trying to modernise the French economy too fast.
About 1 220 people were taken into custody around France, the Interior Ministry said yesterday – a round-up the scale of which the country hasn’t seen in years. French police frisked protesters at train stations around the country, confiscating anything that could be used as a weapon.
The Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum reopened yesterday after closing in fear of Saturday’s rioting. Shops assessed the looting damage and cleared out broken glass, after shutting down on Saturday at the height of the holiday shopping season.
Fierce winds and rain pummelled Paris overnight, complicating efforts to clean up the debris.
Police and protesters also clashed in other French cities, notably Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux. Some protesters took aim at the French border with Italy, creating huge traffic jams on both sides of the border. About 135 people were injured nationwide, including the 71 in Paris.
The protests were a direct blow to Macron, who made a retreat last week and decided to abandon the fuel tax rise that initially prompted the yellow vest protest movement a month ago.
His turnaround damaged his credibility with climate defenders and foreign investors and earned derision from US President Donald Trump, an opponent of the 2015 Paris climate change accord that Macron has championed worldwide. He is set to make a major announcement early this week, his government’s spokesman said.
Benjamin Griveaux gave no details about timing or about what Macron could announce.