Masked men destroyed city and built barricades on the boulevard. Originally protested against high fuel prices – now it is against Macron.
Several hundred “yellow vests” protested on Saturday morning on the Champs Elysees in Paris against high gasoline prices and living expenses. This resulted in serious riots: Masked destroyed city and erected on the boulevard barricades. There was a black cloud of smoke over the road. The police reacted to the riots with tear gas and water cannons.
According to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, around 8,000 people, including members of right-wing and left-wing extremist groups, gathered in Paris for the protests. On the Champs- Elysees demonstrated this information, up to 5000 people.
The atmosphere widened as demonstrators dressed in yellow vests attempted to breach security barriers to reach the Elysée Palace, the official residence of President Emmanuel Macron. The police had set up numerous restricted areas in the center of the French capital, in which no protests were allowed, including the Place de la Concorde, the area around the Elysees Palace and the Champs Elysees.
Castaner had tried in vain to direct the demonstrators to the park next to the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars. The proposal was rejected by the “yellow vests”.
The government has mobilized 3,000 police officers and warned against riots directed at the Champs-Elysees, especially against the security forces. In other parts of the capital and other cities in the country, the protests were largely uneventful.
For a week, the “yellow vests” protested against the reform policy of Macron. Two people died and hundreds were injured. For the most part, the demonstrators used street blockades and mass demonstrations to block traffic in places.
Many of the “yellow vests” fear that the Parisian images of burning street barricades and hooded demonstrators with yellow vest will harm their movement. One hopes that the rioters do not harm their image, explained a “yellow vest” from Chartres the TV station “BFMTV”. They had come to Paris to demonstrate peacefully against Macron and his policy of social injustice.
Originally, the movement was directed against high fuel prices. Now it has become a protest movement, which is directed against the center-president Macron personally. Some banners read on Saturday: “Macron resigns.”
The movement, named after the safety vests in the car- is wide and diffuse. Behind it there is no union or party.
On Friday evening, the police arrested a demonstrator in the western city of Angers wearing a yellow vest. The authorities reported that the 45-year-old had carried explosives around his neck with a detonator. He wanted to force a meeting of the “yellow vests” with Macron in the Elysees Palace. Only after several hours of negotiations had he surrendered.
