Protests by the French Yellow-West Movement saw clashes with police in Paris on Saturday. As reported by the French news agency AFP, bottles and stones were thrown in the direction of the police from the ranks of the peacefully marching protesters near the town hall. The police used tear gas and was later reinforced by riot police. After the incident, the demonstrators continued their protest march from the city hall to the parliament.
Previously, more than a thousand yellow vests had gathered in front of the AFP headquarters. At the approximately half-hour rally they shouted slogans against the government of President Emmanuel Macron and against the media coverage of the protest movement. Then the train started moving towards the town hall.
Another rally was in the late morning on the Champs-Elysées, a few meters from the triumphal arch. There, a speaker said the Yellow West, the previous concessions of the government was not enough. There will still be protests throughout the year.
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There were rallies of yellow vests for the eighth consecutive Saturday, including in Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lyon, Nantes, Rouen and Toulouse. The news station FranceInfo reported that there were a few dozen to as many as 1,200 yellow-vests in these cities.
Macron's concessions are not enough for many
The yellow-vein movement has been adding to head of state government Emmanuel Macron since November. At their national rallies she demonstrates against tax and price increases.
Originally, the movement was directed against high fuel prices and the planned eco tax on diesel. Later, the protest mixed with general discontent about the policy of the government. It responded with billion-dollar concessions - among other things, there should be more money for minimum wage earners and relief for pensioners.
The demonstrators reject this as insufficient. Many are calling for further tax cuts, referendums based on the Swiss model and Macron's resignation.
Violent clashes with the police took place several times during the protests - including on the Champs-Elysées. The movement reached its peak on 17 November, when, according to the authorities, 282,000 people took part in the rallies nationwide. Meanwhile, the protests have subsided significantly.