RT reports (source):
A demonstrator walks near a burning car during a protest of Yellow vests in Paris on December 1, 2018. © AFP / Alain Jocard
Police deployed tear gas and water cannons against firecracker-hurling Yellow Vest protesters in Paris. Over 100 arrests have been made and 65 people injured amid mayhem, triggered by fuel price hikes and higher tax.
December 1 rallies are being held with the slogan “on the way to Macron’s resignation.” As the unrest gained momentum, the area close to the iconic Champs-Elysees avenue has been covered by thick smoke.
While pelting law enforcement with various projectiles, protesters have also resorted to symbolic yellow paint during the standoff. To their delight, quite a few shots have landed on the shields of riot police.
Riot police officers are covered with painting during clashes with demonstrators © AFP
Adding more symbolism to the rally, a man has been seen on his knees with arms stretched to both sides in front of the city’s key landmark – Arc de Triomphe. Another demonstrator stands right behind him, holding two French flags, while both are facing a line of officers in full riot gear.
As some of the Yellow Vest supporters lined up next to the site, police unleashed a water cannon, knocking down at least two of them, who have been carried away.
Surrounded by smoke both from firecrackers and tear gas, a group of Yellow Vest protesters grabbed dozens of large pieces of cardboard to use as a massive ‘shield wall’ against police.
Improvised shields at 'Yellow Vest' demo#YellowVests https://t.co/TfWk7jR4sU pic.twitter.com/JAzbqIxINv
— RT (@RT_com) December 1, 2018
Meanwhile, Lucas Leger, and another RT France reporter covering the rally, have been injured by a tear gas canister and a flash-ball gun. Leger posted a selfie with a bleeding cheek on Twitter.
J'ai été blessé par un tir de la police pic.twitter.com/0xhwilXc1c
— Lucas Léger (@lucas_rtfrance) December 1, 2018
Videos from the unrest also showed people grasping their legs, presumably injured by the very projectiles.
Hours into the clashes, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner tweeted that at least 1,500 “disruptors” were on the outskirts of the Champs-Elysees. According to police figures, more than 60 people, including 11 security officers, were injured and 129 arrested during Saturday chaos.
On Friday, negotiations to settle the issue failed after only two of the protesters’ representatives turned up for a meeting with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. One of them walked out after he was told he could not have TV cameras covering the negotiations. A recent poll shows that despite the mayhem, two-thirds of people in France still back the Yellow Vest cause.
Demonstrators throws metal barriers during a protest of Yellow vests © AFP
The movement has also inspired rallies in neighboring Belgium, where protesters on Friday called on the prime minister to resign. A standoff there also ended up in clashes with law enforcement.
