Clashes between French riot police and protesters from the "yellow jackets" movement took place yesterday, and police fired tear gas in an attempt to drive hundreds of protesters who had gathered around the luxury shopping area and the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris.
The French Deputy Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, that about 31 thousand people participated in the demonstrations, yesterday, referring to the arrest of 700 people.
Concerted demonstrations organized by the movement across France, including several highways, resulted in disruption of traffic.
Police carried out searches targeting people arriving at train stations, in locations where protests such as the Champs-Elysees and Bastille were concentrated, and dozens of detainees arrested after authorities found masks, hammers and stones that could be used to attack police. Shops, museums and the Eiffel Tower were closed to Along with several train stations and most areas in the center of the city, while canceled concerts and more than half of football matches in the Ligue 1, and two games of the European Women's Handball Championship were postponed until today because of the demonstrations.
French authorities have deployed 89,000 police officers across the country, including 8,000 in Paris, backed by armored police vehicles, the first of its kind since the protests began.
Radio France Info said 32 suspects were being investigated. Police did not confirm the figure, but said there were suspicions that many of those arrested had joined the protests to provoke violence, destruction and vandalism.
The French government has retracted the imposition of a fuel tax increase, which triggered the crisis mainly, but this has not succeeded in stopping the movement of its leaders, but the leading protesters have spoken of broader demands, including greater tax cuts and higher wages.
The authorities are working to avoid any risk, after last week's protests saw the injury of more than 100 people, and the arrest of more than 400 others.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castanier warned on Tuesday that "the force will remain for the law," citing extensive security measures to be taken for the occasion, including the use of armored vehicles for the gendarmerie, capable of removing the barriers that may be erected by protesters in the capital, Happened on the first of December. About 100 people were arrested yesterday, before the "yellow jackets" demonstration in the Belgian capital Brussels, where the neighborhood where European headquarters were completely closed, local police said.
Brussels police spokeswoman Elsie van Dee said the arrests were made after a precautionary check. On Saturday afternoon, dozens of people gathered at two sites in the Belgian capital without violence. Police deployed police barriers around the European neighborhood, where European authorities (the Commission, the Council and Parliament) are located to prevent cars and pedestrians from entering.
US President Donald Trump again slammed the Paris climate agreement, saying the move by the "yellow jackets" in France proved the failure of the agreement.
"The Paris agreement does not go well for Paris, demonstrations and riots all over France. People do not want to pay large sums, much of it to developing countries (which are run suspiciously) to protect the environment," Trump wrote on Twitter. Probably". "They sing for Trump, I love France."