French police use tear gas to suppress yellow vest protesters
French police have repeatedly used tear gas bombs to deal with yellow vest protesters in Paris, while the violence shows no signs of ending.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the French BFM television station in central Paris, chanting "Fake news" and demanding the resignation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Many protesters threw strange objects at the police. In response, the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and arrested many people.
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| Protesters and French police clashed on the streets of Paris on December 29. |
Several cars on the street near the Le Parisien newspaper office were also set on fire, but a spokesman for the Paris fire department said it was not yet clear whether the incident was related to the protests.
Tear gas was also used in the western French city of Nantes, and protests were also expected in Lyon, Bordeaux and Toulouse. In the southern French port city of Marseille, police said about 1,000 people protested and chanted “Macron resign”.
However, according to police statistics, the number of protesters has decreased sharply each week, with about 12,000 people present on December 29. Previously, the French government said there were 38,600 protesters on the streets on December 22, much lower than the 282,000 people when the protests broke out on November 17.
However, many protesters claim that the number of participants is lower than before due to the holiday season; street protests will intensify in January.
The protests have shifted from a focus on rising fuel taxes to a broader opposition to Mr Macron’s policies. The French president has been criticised for ignoring the rising cost of living in parts of rural France.
“We want to regain our financial power and have a say in government decisions,” said Priscillia Ludosky, who spearheaded the yellow vest movement. According to Ludosky, the government’s steps to increase the income of low-paid workers “are not enough”.
Protesters believe their movement will continue into 2019 and plans have been made for a demonstration to take place on New Year’s Day. Nearly 8,000 people have registered on Facebook to attend and the event is said to be “festive and non-violent”.
French officials say authorities will stage fireworks and a light show on the Champs-Elysees avenue, which was the epicenter of the Paris riots.
