After the violence, the "yellow vests" change their seat in a militarized Paris

PARIS (AFP) -. Thousands of police were deployed this Saturday in France on the occasion of another day of demonstrations against the "yellow vests", in a climate of tension
the fear of repeating riots and looting last weekend in Paris. This time, the clashes took place in the south of the country, with Nice as epicenter, while in the capital, fines and arrests were inflicted following the prohibition to demonstrate on the Champs-Elysees.

In

Paris

, several "yellow vests" began to gather in the morning on the Place du Trocadero, facing the Eiffel Tower, in peace. Others gathered on Place Denfert-Rochereau, from where at 1 pm a procession of several hundred protesters would begin, which will cross the entire capital from south to north, until Montmartre.

Authorities have banned demonstrations in a large area west of the capital, including the tourist avenue of the Champs-Elysees, where several Saturday looted stores, newsstands and showcases broken.

Dozens of police vehicles, including armored vehicles and water cannons, have been deployed around the Arc de Triomf, which dominates the iconic avenue.

"There are serious reasons to believe that the violence and damage can be repeated" last Saturday, justified the new head of the Paris police, Didier Lallement, whose predecessor was sacked after the excesses of last week.

At noon, 31 people were arrested in Paris for being gathered in this area and 15 were fined. Fines for participating in an unauthorized event have gone from 38 ($ 43) to $ 135 ($ 152) this week to deter protesters.

But the most controversial measure was the announcement of the "reinforced" military deployment. The soldiers of the Sentinel anti-terrorist operation (which has 7,000 soldiers deployed throughout the territory since the attacks of 2015) were mobilized to protect public buildings.

This initiative will allow the security forces to "focus on maintaining order," said a government spokesman.

This announcement triggered a controversy and the opposition denounced a "overhang" of the government. Friday's statements by the military governor of Paris hinted at the possibility that the "shots" of soldiers serve to stoke the fire.

To calm the controversy,
President Macron denounced a "false debate" and insisted that the army was not in charge of public order.

His Interior Minister, Christophe Castaner, who was questioned after the violence last Saturday, promised "zero impunity" to the perpetrators of the destruction and urged the new police prefect to apply the slogans "without hesitation or half measure".

Stress in the south

In addition to Paris, Nice, Bordeaux and Toulouse, in the south of the country, scenes of concentrations often more numerous than those of the capital, have also banned demonstrations in several key areas.

In Nice, dozens of people dressed in yellow jackets challenged the authorities and gathered in one of the main squares in the city, but were quickly surrounded by police.

Six people were arrested in this Mediterranean city, where French presidents Emmanuel Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will meet on Sunday.

The League for Human Rights has denounced the ordinance, considering it as "a serious attack on the freedom of demonstration".

Although the approval of "yellow vests" by the public opinion is in sharp decline (-8 points since the vandalism of Saturday), there is still no solution of way out of crisis.

The movement, born in November before social and fiscal boredom, has shifted into a protean response, without clear leaders, and has not been calmed by the "great national debate" launched by

Emmanuel Macron

to meet the demands of the French.

This great debate, which has led to over 10,000 meetings across the country on topics as diverse as purchasing power, taxation, health or education, has completed the last week and the government must now make proposals.