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PARIS (Reuters) – Police fired tear gas and transformed water cannons at protesters in Paris who were worried about rising fuel costs and President Emmanuel Macron's economic policies, the second weekend of protests. yellow vest "in France.
Police fired tear gas during demonstrations against the rise in the price of gasoline on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, November 24, 2018. REUTERS / Benoit Tessier
Around noon, about 5,000 protesters had gathered on the Champs-Elysees, where some clashed with the police to prevent them from reaching the palace of the Elysee, the president, nearby.
The protesters sang the national anthem and waved French flags while others carried placards with slogans saying "Macron, Resignation" and "Macron, Thief".
Others were seen digging up cobblestones or building barricades when police confirmed the presence of several extremist groups on one of the city's most famous avenues.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner accused the far-right leader Marine Le Pen of stirring up the protests.
"The ultra-right is mobilized and built barricades on the Champs-Élysées. They are gradually neutralized and repulsed by the police, "he said.
In a message on Twitter, Le Pen said she was questioning why no event was allowed in the area. Today, Mr. Castaner uses this information to target me. It's weak and dishonest, "she said.
Protesters oppose Macron's petrol and diesel taxes introduced last year, designed to encourage people to adopt greener modes of transport. Along with the tax, the government offered incentives to buy green or electric vehicles.
For more than a week, the protesters, dressed in the fluorescent jacket that all French motorists must have in their car, have blocked highways across the country with barricades on fire and convoys of slow trucks, preventing the Access to fuel depots, shopping centers and some of the factories.
CHALLENGE FOR MACRON
Security forces feared that far-right and far-right extremists would infiltrate the demonstrations, compounding the crowd control problems.
Some 3,000 police officers were recruited Saturday in Paris, announced the city hall, the security forces to organize a demonstration against sexual violence, a football match and a rugby match in the capital.
Last Saturday, when nearly 300,000 people took part in the first yellow vest events across the country, retailers' daily incomes dropped by 35%, according to consumer groups.
The troubles are a dilemma for Macron, who claims to be a champion of climate change, but has been ridiculed as being out of touch with ordinary people and fighting a decline in popularity.
Despite calls for calm from the government, demonstrations against the yellow vest have spread to French territories abroad, especially to the island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, where cars were burned.
The unrest left two dead and 606 wounded in metropolitan France, the Interior Ministry said Thursday.
While the non-leader movement began as a brutal reaction to rising fuel prices, it drew more frustration at the feeling of pressure on the spending power of households under the government. Macron, 18 months old.
Since coming to power, Macron has witnessed union and street protests against changes in labor regulations and reshaped the heavily indebted railroad operator. Foreign investors have largely applauded its pro-business administration.
But his political opponents dismissed him from the "president of the rich" for ending a wealth tax, and voters seem more and more worried. The popularity of the 40-year-old president has fallen by just 20%.
