Paris Police Fires Tear Gas on ’Yellow Vest’ Protests Anniversary

By Staff, Agencies

The French capital police fired tear gas in northwestern Paris Saturday to drive back protesters on the first year anniversary weekend of anti-government "yellow vest" demonstrations.

Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police near the Porte de Champerret as protesters were preparing to march across town towards Gare d'Austerlitz in southern Paris while police also intervened to prevent a few hundred demonstrators from occupying the Paris ring road, according to Reuters TV footage.

Paris police said 24 people had been arrested by 09.50 GMT.

The so-called Yellow Vest protests erupted in mid-November 2018 originally over fuel price hikes and the high cost of living but spiraled into a broader movement against French President Emmanuel Macron and his drive for economic reforms.

Protests have lost strength in recent months, going from tens of thousands of participants to just a few thousand, but its leaders have called to re-mobilize this Saturday, to celebrate the first anniversary.

At its peak in late 20018, the movement grew to up to 300,000 people.