Pillage of business and violence in Paris in a new demonstration of yellow vests

The first violence erupted shortly before midday on the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysées, where several thousand demonstrators had gathered.

While some groups chanted anti-capitalist or anticlerical slogans, others erected barricades or They attacked shops (Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Nespresso …) and restaurants like the famous Fouquet's, frequented by celebrities.

A short distance from the broken windows, near the Arc de Triomphe, other protesters, dressed in black and wearing a hood or helmet, threw stones at the security forces, who fought back with gas cannons and water cannons.

Protesters set fire to luxury stores such as Longchamp. Sports and clothing stores were robbed.

According to images broadcast by television, another group reportedly attempted to attack a gendarmerie truck.

According to a report issued by the police in the middle of the morning, 31 people were arrested.

It had been weeks since scenes of looting and clashes like this one had been seen in Paris, recalling those recorded on the Champs-Élysées themselves at the end of November and the beginning of December. and whose images went around the world.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner denounced the acts of "professionals of destruction and disorder" and asked the police to react with "the utmost firmness in the face of these inadmissible attacks".

According to figures reported by the minister, some 7,000 to 8,000 people demonstrated Saturday in the French capital, including 1,500 ultraviolet.

The security forces mobilized heavily in the capital on 18 consecutive Saturday of demonstrations of "yellow vests" against the tax and social policy of the French government.

The center of Paris woke up with closed metro stations and protected windows in anticipation of a new mobilization four months after the start of protests.

Presented as a "ultimatum" to the president Emmanuel MacronThis new mobilization comes after a series of debates in France during which the government hoped to channel the anger of the demonstrators and to emerge concrete proposals.

The number of protesters has decreased in recent weeks. According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, "yellow vests" they wondered, they were 28 600 in all 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.

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