December 02, 2018:

In the middle of Paris streets, they lit fires, torched cars & trash cans, threw rocks at police & smashed 7 looted stores.

France’s most violent urban riot in a decade engulfed central Paris on Saturday as “yellow jacket” activists torched cars, smashed windows, looted stores & tagged the Arc de Triomphe with multi-colored graffiti.

In addition to rising taxes, the demonstrators are furious about president Macron’s leadership, saying that his government does not care about the problems of ordinary people.

The grassroots protests began with motorists upset over a fuel tax hike, but now involve a broad range of demands related to France’s high cost of living.

The movement’s demands have also expanded to higher pensions, an increase in the minimum wage, a repeal of certain other taxes, the restoration of a wealth tax, a law fixing a maximum salary, & replacing Macron & the National Assembly with a “People’s Assembly.”

While political parties have tried to show their support for the movement, the Yellow Vests have rejected any political link.

The violence in Paris, however, suggests that some protests appear to have been taken over by more radical far-right or far-left groups.

The authorities were caught off guard by the escalation in violence, known as the “yellow vest” movement named after fluorescent jackets mandatorily kept in all vehicles in France.

It was the third straight weekend of clashes in Paris with activists dressed in the fluorescent yellow vests of a new protest movement & the worst urban violence since at least 2005.

Thousands of French police were deployed to try to contain the violence, which began Saturday morning near the Arc de Triomphe & continued well after dark. Paris police said at least 110 people, including 20 police officers, were injured in the violent protests & 224 others were arrested.

By the afternoon, clashed continued down several streets popular with tourists. Pockets of demonstrators built makeshift barricades in the middle of Paris streets, lit fires, torched cars & trash cans, threw rocks at police & smashed 7 looted stores.

Some demonstrators removed the barriers protecting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I under the Arc de Triomphe monument to pose near its eternal flame & sing the national anthem. They were dispersed by police.

Graffiti sprayed onto the Arc de Triomphe wrote: “yellow jackets will triumph.”

By Saturday afternoon, central Paris was locked down police, with all roads leading away from the Arc closed off as more police moved in. Over 20 downtown Paris metro stations were closed for security reasons & police ordered stores in nearby neighborhoods to close early Saturday evening.

Hours later, some cars still smoldered & law enforcement & protesters were still facing off elsewhere in the capital.

French television showed police leading a shaken woman away from the protesters, & loud bangs rang out near the famed Champs Elysees Avenue where the violence was centered.

French authorities said they counted 75,000 protesters Saturday across the country, including 5,500 in Paris, numbers that were less than last week’s protest but produced much more destruction.

Earlier Saturday, several hundred peaceful protesters in Paris passed through police checkpoints to reach the Champs-Elysees. They marched on the famed avenue behind a big banner that read “Macron, stop taking us for stupid people.”

Since the yellow jacket movement kicked off on November 17, two people have been killed & hundreds injured in clashes or accidents stemming from the protests. Source Link

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