Groups of masked protesters battled police through clouds of tear gas near Paris’ Champs Elysees Saturday as thousands took part in a third weekend of “yellow vest” demonstrations, which have morphed from anger over fuel taxes into a broader anti-government movement.
The violence broke out early after crowds began gathering at the Arc de Triomphe, where they found the Champs Elysees on lockdown by police manning barricades and water cannons.
While several dozen protesters were allowed to pass after an ID check and search, many others, often wearing gas masks or ski goggles, remained behind and fought with police, who responded with rounds of tear gas.
Demonstrators, some wielding slingshots, threw rocks, construction barricades, and even paint at police in protective gear and helmets, with some officers seen spattered with yellow liquid.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, visiting the Paris police’s command center, said at least 107 people were arrested in Paris among the estimated 5,500 protesters. The number was later revised to 140 arrests, and 65 injuries including 11 police officers.
Ten people were injured, including three of the 5,000 police officers mobilized in Paris, junior interior minister Laurent Nunez told BFM television.
An acrid odor of tear gas and smoke from burning cars and trash containers filled the air in the areas near the clashes.
Stores and restaurants along the famous avenue as well as surrounding streets had boarded up windows, anticipating a repeat of the clashes last Saturday which President Emmanuel Macron compared to “war scenes.”
Although police managed to clear the square around the Arc de Triomphe toward midday, cat-and-mouse skirmishes continued as protesters spread out to nearby streets and neighborhoods.
News channels showed burning barricades on several streets, and protesters lobbing paving stones and other items at police trucks.
Across the country some 36,000 people took part in mainly peaceful protests against a surge in fuel prices this year, which they attribute to a series of tax increases to finance the government’s anti-pollution efforts.
The “yellow vest” movement erupted on social media in October and has since become a wider protest against Macron, who is accused of failing to recognize the rising costs of living that has left many struggling.
Shortly after midday on the Champs Elysees, several hundred people began marching behind a huge yellow-and-red banner reading “Macron, stop taking us for idiots!”
No comments:
Post a Comment