Paris in chaos, more than 100 yellow vests arrested
Protesters clashed with police, forcing security forces to use smoke grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
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Police crack down on protesters in Paris on April 20. Photo:AFP |
"126 people were arrested, 11,000 had their papers checked," a representative of the Paris police department said today. Dozens of "Yellow Vest" protesters threw stones at police, some also burned motorbikes and trash cans in central Paris, forcing authorities to use rocket-propelled grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Most of the protesters were in Paris, but authorities warned that similar action could take place in other cities. Parts of the Paris metro network were closed and 60,000 police officers were deployed across France.
The "Yellow Vest" movement erupted in mid-November 2018 to protest the government's plan to increase fuel taxes, but later expanded to criticize French President Emmanuel Macron, while expressing anger about tax levels and high living costs.
President Macron approved a law earlier this month that gives security forces more power during protests, a move that was criticized by the opposition as a violation of civil liberties. France's Constitutional Council has rejected some provisions of the law, such as a ban on protesters covering their faces.
