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'Justice
Will Prevail': Macron Denounces Violence at Yellow Vest Protests
MOSCOW
(Sputnik) - French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned violence
at the eighth weekend of the "yellow vest" protests and
stressed the need for discussion and dialogue.
©
REUTERS / Stephane Mahe
The rallies have been marked by violent clashes between protesters and the police. At least 50,000 people across France continued on Saturday to keep up pressure on the government, according to local media.
READ MORE: Marine Le Pen Blasts 'Pyromaniac' Macron Over Defiant New Year's Address
In Paris, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux was evacuated from his office after a group of protesters forced their way into the ministry, French media reported.
France
Ablaze Again; Yellow Vests Rage After Founder Arrested; Cops Punched,
Tear Gas Deployed
5
January, 2019
More
violence has erupted across France just days after French
authorities arrested
a key organizer of
the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) movement.
After
the protests began peacefully, Paris police deployed teargas and
batons as protesters began to riot during the so-called
'Act VIII" Day of Rage, while marches were underway in several
other cities across France and
London.
Protesters in Paris hurled objects at riot police manning bridge
barricades over the Seine river, while garbage bins were torched
along the upscale Boulevard Saint Germain.
#Update: The water cannon is being deployed in #Bordeaux as is tear gas. The cops want to despire the peaceful #GiletsJaunes protestors. #ActeVIII looks like the cops do not want to work overtime in #France.
#Update: Lots of tear gas being thrown towards the #GiletsJaunes protestors on the #ChampsElysees in #Paris right now! #ActeVIII pic.twitter.com/0djRrEdhWf
VIDEO: #YellowVest protesters in Paris gather at the stock exchange where they demand the resignation of French president Emmanuel Macron#GiletsJaunes
#GiletsJaune très forte mobilisation à #Paris scènes d'insurrection dans la capitale #Acte8 #ActeVIII #05janvier #05janvier2019
#YellowVest anti-government protesters march during a rally in Nantes#GiletsJaunes
@LoicVenanc for @AFPphoto
VIDEO: #YellowVest protesters clash with riot police in Paris#GiletsJaunes pic.twitter.com/ON18p0UY9m
#Update: Pictures of Cars Scooters and trash cans are being set on fire in "Saint Germain" in #Paris of the #GiletsJaunes protestors. #ActeVIII
#Update: The #GiletsJaunes protests in #Toulon are still going strong some pictures of the scene. #ActeVIII pic.twitter.com/n3xgLenzV5
Twitter
user @Bellingdawg, who reported
extensively on the Yellow Vest movement, reveals what's going on in
Paris and parts of france receiving less mainstream coverage.
The quays of #Bordeaux are full of #FreeFrenchArmy. It is the first time since the beginning of the revolution that there has been so many people. #YellowVests #GiletsJaunes #GlobalRevolution
Some demonstrators blocked roads:
There were also skirmishes between police and protesters in the northern port city of Caen. Thousands more rallied in Bordeaux in the southwest, Rouen in the north and Marseille in the southeast, though numbers appeared far below the turnout seen in early weeks of the protests. -Reuters
#GiletsJaune très forte mobilisation à #Paris une péniche prend feu aux abords de la manifestation #Acte8 #ActeVIII #05janvier #05janvier2019
33-year-old
Eric Drouet, one of the Yellow Vest movement's most high-profile
leaders, was arrested on Wednesday night for leading an unauthorized
demonstration, signaling a crackdown on the anti-government
demonstrators after nearly two months of violence-filled protests.
Drouet,
a truck driver from the suburbs of Paris, was arrested in Paris
on Wednesday evening near the iconic Champs-Élysées avenue -
a prime location for the yellow vests to gather. Drouet was
detained while leading a commemoration of yellow vests who have died
since the movement's inception, most of whom were hit by cars during
protests at roundabouts throughout the country, according to the Wall
Street Journal.
The
movement, which began as a protest against a fuel tax, evolved into a
general movement against the Macron administration. France is notably
the most taxed
country in the world.
"They
have no right to leave us in the shit like this," said protester
Francois Cordier, writes Reuters.
"We’re fed up with having to pay out the whole time, we’ve
had enough of this slavery, we should be able to live on our
salaries."
Macron
tries to respond, and fails
The
protests which have come just 18 months into Macron's tenure, have
forced the 41-year-old French President to postpone the planned fuel
tax as well as grant other concessions.
Last month, Macron promised tax cuts for pensioners, wage rises for the poorest workers and the scrapping of planned fuel tax increases to quell the unrest at a cost to the Treasury of 10 billion euros ($11 billion).
The measures marked the first big U-turn for a president elected 18 months earlier on a platform to break with traditional French politics and liberalize the heavily-regulated euro zone economy.
In a New Year’s Eve address, Macron vowed to press on with his reform agenda, saying: “We can’t work less, earn more, cut taxes and increase spending.” -Reuters
Most
recently, the Macron government announced that it would be cracking
down on French executives who avoid paying taxes.
That
said, the government has resisted demands from Yellow Vest protesters
to reinstate the wealth tax - which Macron abolished after becoming
president.
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