Watch: Shocking Video Shows ‘Yellow Vest’ Riots Exploding Across Central Paris
French authorities detained hundreds Saturday as the “yellow vest” protests, aimed at French President Emmanuel Macron’s economic and climate change policies, entered their fourth weekend.
The BBC reports that at least 1,000 people have been taken into custody across France. Dozens were injured — including a handful of police officers — in demonstrations that drew more than 10,000 people to Paris’ city center, and more than 100,000 to the streets across France, including in “Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille and Grenoble.” . . .
Here is a bird’s-eye view of the riots in Paris. pic.twitter.com/Fjy939UsnH
— Anna Paulina (@realannapaulina) December 8, 2018
The French government reportedly dispatched more than 90,000 law enforcement officers nationwide, with 8,000 dispatched in Paris alone. Police used heavy armored vehicles to control the crowd which stayed contained, again, primarily to the Champs-Elysées, Paris’ primary thoroughfare.
Freelance reporter Clement Lanot captured footage of small tanks deployed to protect major tourist attractions like the Arc de Triomphe, the massive Louvre museum, and the Musee D’Orsay, which hosts some of the world’s more precious Impressionist works.
PARIS #8decembre – Les blindés de la gendarmerie à nouveau en action contre des barricades #GiletsJaunes pic.twitter.com/ymKQZ9Nhx1
— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) December 8, 2018
PARIS #8decembre – Les blindés de la Gendarmerie sont prêt à intervenir sur les #ChampsElysées #GiletsJaunes pic.twitter.com/vzfu76q6ly
— Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) December 8, 2018
French authorities said Saturday that they felt confident the protests were contained and, indeed, the protests in Paris were smaller than they have been in previous weeks — thanks, likely, to concessions made on the part of Macron’s government to scale back and indefinitely delay gasoline taxes designed to curb French reliance on fossil fuels by pricing domestic fuel users out of the market. (Read more from “Watch: Shocking Video Shows ‘Yellow Vest’ Riots Exploding Across Central Paris” HERE)
Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.
