Destrozos in Paris in a new march of "yellow vests": vandalized the iconic restaurant Fouquet & # 39; s

A group of agitators ransacked Saturday stores on the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Parisduring the 18th day of mobilization of "yellow vests", marked by a new outbreak of violence.

Thousands of protesters they gathered in the iconic artery, where at noon several barricades burned. While some groups chanted anti-capitalist or anti-political slogans, others attacked shops (Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Nespresso …) and restaurants like the famous Fouquet & # 39; s, frequented by celebrities.

The brewery, founded in 1899 by Louis Fouquet, is considered a national historic monument. It was on everyone's lips in 2007, after Nicolas Sarkozy celebrated his triumph in the presidential election.

The vandals destroyed the forehead and the interior. One of the attackers has renamed graffiti. Instead of Fouquet's, which refers to his first owner and founder, he wrote "It's crazy quets", making a play on words because crazy It means crazy.

A few meters further, next to the Arc de Triomphe, groups of protesters, dressed in black and wearing a hood or helmet on their headThey threw stones at the security forces, who responded with tear gas.

It had been weeks since scenes of looting and such confrontations had been seen in Paris, reminiscent of those recorded on the same Champs Elysees in late November and early December and whose images have been around the world. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner denounced the actions of "professionals of destruction and disorder" and asked the police to react "with the utmost firmness".

After weeks of decline, the movement of "yellow vests" was trying to gain momentum this Saturday with a big demonstration in Paris. The incidents did not take long to happen.

According to images broadcast during the morning on television, some protesters tried to attack a gendarmerie truck while others erected barricades. Security forces fired back with tear gas and water cannons.

According to a report published by the police in the middle of the morning, 31 people were arrested. Security forces mobilized heavily in the capital for the 18th consecutive Saturday of demonstrations of "yellow vests" against the tax and social policy of the French government.

The center of the capital, with closed metro stations and protected windows, was preparing to receive thousands of protesters Four months after the beginning of the demonstrations. Several figures of this apolitical movement organized on social networks invited their supporters to converge on the capital.

"We are looking forward to those of Toulouse, those of Bordeaux, those of Marseille …"Truck driver Eric Drouet, one of the leaders of "yellow vests", said he was also expecting reinforcements from Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland .

Maxime Nicolle, another remarkable member, promised a "memorable" day, "a weekend among the most important since the beginning of this mobilization".

Presented as an "ultimatum" to President Emmanuel Macron, This new mobilization comes after a series of debates in France with which the government hoped to channel the anger of the protesters and bring out concrete proposals.

The number of protesters has decreased in recent weeks. According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, about which the issue of "yellow jackets", there were 28,600 in France last week, a tenth of the 282,000 who took to the streets on November 17, beginning of the movement.

To prevent riots and violence that have overshadowed several events and images around the world, the police have put in place a severe police.

About 5,000 men and six armored gendarmerie vehicles are deployed in the capital, where other events are also planned, such as the "march of the century" for the climate.