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PARIS – Paris police on Saturday used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters in "yellow vests" as thousands of people gathered in the capital and organized roadblocks across the country as part of the crackdown. A second wave of protests against rising taxes on gasoline, and Emmanuel Macron presidency.
Clashes erupted on the Champs-Élysées after the police set up security cordon around sensitive sites in the center of the capital.
Some protesters sang the national anthem while others carried placards with slogans saying "Macron, resignation" and "Macron, thief," according to news reports. Other people have been unearthing pavements or building barricades when police confirmed the presence of several extremist groups on one of the city's most famous avenues.
Thousands of police were deployed throughout the country to contain the demonstrations, including a rally at the foot of the Champs-Elysees, where protesters carried placards on which was written: "Death to Taxes" and who had put a big vehicle upside down.
Nobody was injured in the clashes, but six were arrested for "projectile throwing," said the Paris police.
"This will trigger a civil war and, like most citizens, we are all ready," said Benjamin Vrignaud, a 21-year-old protester from Chartres.
The Champs-Elysees were speckled with neon – because of the color of the vests that carried the myriad that the protesters wear like a yellow jacket. French drivers are required to keep neon safety vests in their vehicles.
Five thousand protesters have invaded the famous avenue, with 23,000 demonstrators gathered so far across the country, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, who called for calm and promised police measures severe against the unruly crowd.
During a week of protests that dominated the national news coverage, hundreds of people were injured and two people died as a result of the demonstrations, which represent a challenge in size for Mr. Macron.
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 authorities are struggling because the movement has no clear leader and has attracted a motley group of people with very different claims. Protesters call themselves yellow jackets after the fluorescent safety jackets that drivers are required to keep in their vehicles.
A man provoked a dramatic confrontation with police on Friday when he donned a fluorescent vest and brandished an apparent grenade in a supermarket in Angers (west). He was later arrested.
While the non-leader movement initially thwarted rising gas prices, it drew more frustration at the feeling of pressure on the spending power of households under M's government. Macron, 18 months old.
The unrest is a dilemma for Macron, who claims to be a champion of climate change, but has been ridiculed and disconnected from ordinary people and struggling for a loss of popularity.
Macron defended fuel taxes, seen as necessary to reduce France's reliance on fossil fuels, but promised to present new plans on Tuesday to facilitate the "energy transition."
Since coming to power, he has witnessed union and street protests against changes to 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%.
