Battle on the ground: 249 people arrested in March yellow jackets

At least 249 people were arrested this Saturday in Paris for protests of "yellow vests", which took over the capital Saturday in Ultimatum 2, whose first edition had been settled with serious disturbances. In addition, authorities have reported at least 14 police officers injured as a result of the riots.

Of the total number of arrested, 183 were arrested while in police custody. Last Saturday, only 15 people were arrested in the capital, according to data from the Paris Prefecture collected by BFM television. The first arrests were made for possession of prohibited materials and took place at security checkpoints, according to police sources.

However, later on, the police attributed riots to "violent groups", the use of tear agents and controversial steel balls coated with rubber or "flashball". Some projectiles launched with Weapons known as Defense Ballistic Lance (LBD). The Plaza de la República is one of the most tense points.

The riots took place until the middle of the afternoon and by the end of the afternoon, around 8 pm, the "yellow vests" were still on the streets, but their number had considerably decreased and there was no sign of violence.

Regarding the participants, the Ministry of the Interior reported 27,900 demonstrators spread throughout the French territory, including 9,000 in Paris. At the same time, there were 31,100 protesters in France on Saturday and 5,000 of them in Paris.

The "yellow vests" claim that all these figures are much higher and its "yellow number" has published 101,101 demonstrators throughout France, which represents a slight increase from 91,276 last Saturday.

The first ultimatum of the "yellow vests" took place on March 16, when major unrest was occurring, mainly in the Champs-Elysees region, where the historic restaurant Fouquet was looted and set on fire. Since then, the authorities have partially banned the marches, but the "yellow vests" have maintained the level of mobilization.

The authorities have warned of the risk of riots during this act XXIII of "yellow vests" and the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, announced Friday the deployment of 60,000 police and gendarmes across the country. In addition, already on Saturday, the police asked the "yellow vests" to be clearly distinguished from "violent groups".

One of the leaders of the movement, Jerome Rodrigues, lamented on Monday the "unfortunate" fire that devastated the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, but warned that it should not divert the fire. attention of the political debate. .

"The government's strategy is to better sell its election platform, which we have just denounced during the demonstration," he said.

In Paris, two marches were authorized and the authorities banned several other trips. Demonstrations were also banned in Lyon, Bordeaux or Toulouse, where there were moments of tension and where the police used tear gas to disperse the demonstration.

In Bordeaux, 1,500 demonstrators were counted, according to the authorities. There, police blocked access to downtown.

The mobilization of "yellow jackets" began in November to protest the rise of taxes on diesel and reached their peak in December with demonstrations against the repression of the demonstrations to the point that President Emmanuel Macron announced a package of means to improve the living conditions of the middle clbad and the working clbad.