Tear gas greets 1st ‘yellow vest’ protest of 2019

PARIS — French security forces fired tear gas after a march through central Paris went from peaceful to provocative Saturday as several thousand protesters staged the “yellow vest” movement’s first action of 2019 to keep up pressure on President Emmanuel Macron.

A river boat restaurant moored below the clashes on the Left Bank of the Seine River caught fire. Tear gas wafted above the Orsay Museum and the gold dome of the French Academy as riot police, nearly invisible at the start of the demonstration, moved to the front when protesters deviated from an officially approved path.

Police boats patrolled the river while beyond the Seine, motorcycles and a car were set on fire on the Boulevard Saint Germain, a main Left Bank thoroughfare. Riot police and firefighters moved in as barricades erected in the street also glowed in flames.

Protesters made their way to the Champs-Elysees Avenue, the famed boulevard at the center of previous yellow vest demonstrations, many removing their distinctive vests and mixing with shoppers.

Riot police moved in with a water cannon to evacuate the avenue. A line of parked cars burned on a nearby street.

In a first, the building housing the office of the French government spokesman was attacked. Spokesman Benjamin Griveaux was evacuated from his Left Bank office at the Ministry for Parliamentary Relations after the front door of the building was partially destroyed.

“It wasn’t me who was attacked ... It was the institutions, the democratic form of government,” Griveaux said.

It was the first such attack on government property since the yellow vest movement began weekly protests eight Saturdays ago, in mid-November. Protesters have tried to reach the presidential Elysee Palace, which is protected like a bunker.

Saturday’s march had been declared in advance and approved, in contrast to some illegal December demonstrations that degenerated into vandalism, looting and chaos.

The latest demonstration was a sort of test of the movement’s staying power after proposals by Macron to address concerns of French citizens, including canceling fuel tax hikes. The rallies have swelled with broader anger over Macron’s economic policies, deemed to favor the rich.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner estimated that about 50,000 people participated in protests around France on Saturday.

Milos Krivokapic and Elaine Ganley are Associated Press writers.

Abdul Abeissa / AFP / Getty Images A demonstrator holds a placard displaying a picture a French President Emmanuel Macron during an anti-government rally organized by the “yellow vest” movement in Paris.