Thousands of yellow vest protesters marched Saturday through Paris and other French cities for a ninth straight weekend to denounce President Emmanuel Macron’s economic policies, and repeated tensions broke out with police.
Sporadic violence broke out during protests in Paris, Bourges, Bordeaux, Rouen, Marseille and Toulouse.
Protesters walked peacefully through central Paris from the Finance Ministry in the east of the French capital to the Arc de Triomphe in the west.
Scuffles between police and activists then broke out near the monument at the end of the march. Police used tear gas, water cannon and flash-balls to push back some people throwing rocks and other objects at them.
French security forces equipped with armored vehicles blocked protesters from going onto nearby Champs-Elysees Avenue. The neighborhood was reopened to car traffic later Saturday evening.
The Interior Ministry said more than 100 people had been arrested in Paris and other French cities, including 82 who were kept in police custody, primarily for carrying potential weapons or taking part in violence.
The movement demanding wider changes to France’s economy to help struggling workers appeared to gain new momentum this weekend. The French Interior Ministry said about 32,000 people turned out for yellow vest demonstrations across France at midday.
Several thousand protesters marched in the central city of Bourges, a provincial capital with a renowned Gothic cathedral and picturesque wood-framed houses.
French authorities deployed 80,000 security forces nationwide for the anti-government protests and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner threatened tough retaliation against any who rioted.
Paris police deployed armored vehicles, horses and attack dogs around the city on Saturday. Subway stations and some shops closed, notably around government buildings and the Champs-Elysees, the sparkling avenue whose luxury boutiques have been hit by repeated rioting in past protests.
The movement for greater economic equality waned over the holidays but appears to be resurging, despite Macron’s promises of billions of euros in tax relief and an upcoming “national debate” to address demonstrators’ concerns that Macron is expected to launch with a “letter to the French” on Monday.
The protests started in November with drivers who opposed fuel tax increases, which is why participants wear the fluorescent vests that French motorists must keep in their vehicles. But it has mushroomed into a broad-based revolt against years of shrinking purchasing power and Macron’s pro-business policies.
Some yellow vest groups hope to translate that anger into votes in the European Parliament elections in May.
THOUSANDS of British Yellow Vest protesters will swarm on London and Sheffield today as French-inspired anti-establishment anger spills out onto the capital’s streets.
The left wing Yellow Vest protest is believed to be broadly about demanding a general election and an end to austerity. But Brexit is expected to figure highly among the vague and slightly confused ambitions of the marchers following in the footsteps of French protesters who also donned yellow vests in widespread demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron. Today’s “Britain is Broken” march will see as many as 10,000 people on the streets according to the event’s official Facebook page.
The march follows last weekend’s pro-Brexit London protests where demonstrators wore yellow vests in a nod to the “gilet janues” protests in France.
French Yellow Vest movement members Erick Simon and Laurie Martin have joined the London march and will take part in the anti-austerity demonstrations
The event, which is hosted by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity, is in response to the parliamentary chaos over the prime minister’s Brexit deal.
But the protestors also criticise Theresa May’s wider government policies, including those in regard to homelessness, universal credit and the NHS.
In an open letter from organisers, published on their website yesterday, they say: “We do not believe that people in this country should have to endure this spectacle any longer.
“We cannot sit idly by and simply watch the political establishment fail the people who elected them.
“We believe that ordinary working people must now play an active role in resolving this crisis.
“We cannot remain spectators in the destruction of our own future and we intend to demonstrate our determination to offer a solutions for the Britain the Tories have broken and to demand a general election so that voters can act with a decisiveness which their leaders seem incapable of displaying.
"We urge everyone to join us in London on Saturday 12th January to serve notice of a failed party that is paralysed by their own crisis of ideology, the people must stand up, resist and demand they step aside.”
The London protestors are due to assemble outside the BBC in Portland Place and march to Trafalgar Square at 12pm.
On their official Facebook page, the group posted: “Today we protest! Safe journeys to everyone travelling to London this morning.
“It’s time to get the Tories out! See you on the streets! #GeneralElectionNow”
Coaches of protestors from around the country have began travelling to London, with demonstrators from Manchester and Derbyshire posting on social media.
Manchester People’s Assembly - Austerity Cut it Out wrote on Facebook at 7am this morning: “Setting off to national demo #britainisbroken.
“It’s time for this broken government to go.”
Labour MP Laura Pidcock and political commentator Owen Jones are among the speakers at the event.
Addressing protesters in Trafalgar Square, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said eight years of austerity was "tearing apart the very social fabric" of the country.
He told the crowd he expected MPs to defeat Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal at Tuesday's vote.
Mr McDonnell said that then, when "the time is right", his party would move a motion of no confidence to "bring this government down".
He read out a message from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, “We need a general election now to bring about the fairer, more equal society we all want to live in and we stand ready to take power."
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