Third month of mobilisations in France | More than 40 …

Thousands of "yellow vests" were shown this Saturday in Paris and several cities in France, three months after the birth of this movement of social protest that continues. The Ministry of the Interior estimated that 41,500 demonstrators were spread across the country, including 5,000 in Paris, down from the previous week.

In Paris, traditional place of strong demonstrations, the demonstrators gathered on the Place de l'Etoile to descend the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, before crossing the bridges over the Seine and to continue the demonstration in Paris. other major avenues in Paris.

"I have participated in almost all the demonstrations, we see how the public services are going to hell," said Marion, a nurse in Paris, who described the "big debate" launched by the "smoke screen" as a "smoke screen". President Emmanuel Macron across the country. "We do not believe that, we will not participate," he said.

The concentration, heavily guarded by the forces of order, was held in a calm environment, despite some whistles, smoke and hostile songs against the police and the French president ("Emmanuel Macron, we come to find you at home! "").

In the afternoon, on the sidelines of the demonstration in the Montparnbade district, the philosopher Alain Finkielkraut fell on the column of protesters who booed and insulted him as a "Zionist shit", strongly condemned by President Macron himself. .

This unprecedented movement, which began on November 17 and has developed on social networks to protest against a new fuel tax, called "ecological", has spread throughout France and forced the government to engage in social action and launch a major national debate. .

The "yellow vests" added many demands, which now range from improving purchasing power to greater social and fiscal justice, through a more horizontal democracy or the demand for referendums of citizens. Some demand the resignation of Emmanuel Macron.

In other cities, there were moments of tension, especially in Bordeaux (south-west) where the protest movement is well established.

Several columns with thousands of demonstrators marched through the city's wealthy neighborhoods proclaiming "the death of the rich". The protesters then reached the historic center where clashes with the police were recorded. According to police, there were about 5,000 protesters in this city.

At least 2,000 demonstrators marched in Pontivy (west), a major demonstration center in Brittany. In Toulouse, to the southwest, another bastion of protest, several thousand "yellow vests" came forward. Also in Nantes (west), the demonstration gathered about 1,600 people, according to the police. There were incidents.

In Lyon (east), several thousand demonstrators tried to block traffic on a motorway, which caused serious difficulties for transit. In the east of France, the "yellow vests" found themselves in the roundabouts of the cities, which was one of the modes of action with which the movement started in the middle of the year. November.

Last Saturday, 51,400 demonstrators were mobilized throughout France, a figure still lower than previous events. However, the movement rejects the fact that it is weakened and only admits that its forces have stagnated.

The protest, which enjoyed widespread popular support in the beginning, is now starting to crumble: for the first time, most French (56%) want the mobilization to stop, said an Elabe poll released Wednesday. The modes of action of the contest were widely debated within this heterogeneous movement, which weakened the French government by forcing it to make concessions and to launch a big national debate to try to leave the crisis.

But the dialogue of the deaf persists between a government anxious to promote its "big debate" and the demonstrators who denounce a consultation head on.