France Braces for Flare-Up in Protests amid Anger over Riches Rushing For Cathedral

By Staff, Agencies

French police are on high alert for a flare-up in “yellow vest” protests Saturday after pledges of prodigal donations to restore Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral generated a wave of resentment.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said more than 60,000 police officers and gendarmes are deployed to confront protesters taking to the streets for the 23rd straight Saturday.

Domestic intelligence services have informed him of a potential return of “rioters” intent on wreaking havoc in Paris and several other cities in a repeat of violent protests staged last month, he said.

“Violent extremists once again plan to gather in certain towns such as Toulouse, Montpellier, Bordeaux and above all Paris,” Castaner said at news conference in Paris Friday.

“Their objective is clear: to do another March 16,” when there was widespread destruction on the Champs Elysees avenue in the capital, he added.

“The rioters will be back tomorrow,” Castaner said, referring to the day when hooded gangs ransacked stores on Paris’s famed Champs-Elysees avenue and set fire to a bank.

The minister said protests near the Champs Elysees and the medieval church of Notre Dame would be banned on Saturday.

The catastrophic fire at Notre Dame on Monday prompted rich families and corporations to pledge around $1.13 billion for its reconstruction, with President Emmanuel Macon promising to rebuild it in five years.

Those pledges angered many protesters, who have expressed disgust at the fact that their five-month old movement has not received the same generous donations by France’s elite.

The “yellow vest” movement has so far posed the biggest challenge to Macron’s authority two years into his presidency.