Violence surges, but ‘Yellow Vest’ protests ebb
PARIS >> Violence erupted Saturday in Paris during the 18th weekend of “Yellow Vest” demonstrations as protesters targeted symbols of economic privilege, setting multiple fires and smashing a high-end restaurant on the Champs-Élysées, even as the crowd’s numbers dwindled from past rallies.
Organizers for Saturday’s protests said on social media that they wanted the day to serve as an “ultimatum” to “the government and the powerful.”
The size of the movement, which started in November over a proposed gas tax increase and came to embody general discontent against President Emmanuel Macron’s policies, has been shrinking from weekend to weekend. But protesters have maintained a continuous presence every Saturday.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said 7,000 to 8,000 protesters had gathered in Paris on Saturday, with at least 1,500 casseurs, or “breakers,” among them. In the earliest demonstrations, late last year, more than a quarter-million people took to the streets across France.
Some turned out Saturday to “break, fight to the finish and attack,” Castaner said, adding that others tried to assault the Arc de Triomphe twice, reminiscent of the scenes of chaos in the early stages of the movement. (In January, protesters attacked a government building with a construction vehicle and forced a minister to be evacuated.)
Police had arrested 82 people by Saturday afternoon.
Protesters also broke the windows of shops selling luxury goods.