Yellow vest protesters and riot police clashed in central Paris as hundreds of people have been arrested in another weekend of tension in the French capital.
Paris amid another weekend of anti-government tension
8 Dec 2018 - 15:14
Yellow vest protesters and riot police clashed in central Paris as hundreds of people have been arrested in another weekend of tension in the French capital.
Police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who gathered near the famous Champs-Elysees boulevard and the Arc de Triomphe monument on Saturday.
More than 300 people were arrested at dawn as about 8,000 security forces were deployed in the French capital in anticipation of a major turmoil.
Across France, about 89,000 police have been deployed amid high alert after last Saturday's mayhem when rioters torched cars and looted shops.
Early on Saturday, Paris looked like a ghost town, with museums, department stores and the metro closed.
This is a fourth weekend of confrontation over living costs and the government's plan to raise fuel tax, which has shaken France to its foundations.
The protests have said participants deface the Arc de Triomphe monument with graffiti directed at President Emmanuel Macron.
France's Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said “large-scale” security operation would be launched on Saturday as they expected radical elements" infiltrate planned "yellow vest” protests.
"These past three weeks have seen the birth of a monster that has escaped its creators," he said, vowing "zero tolerance" towards those aiming to wreak further destruction and mayhem.
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