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Paris on lockdown for gilet jaunes protests - live updates Paris on lockdown for gilet jaunes protests - live updates
(35 minutes later)
The Guardian’s Paris Bureau chief, Angelique Chrisafis, is at the Place de la Republique in central Paris and has been talking to some of the gilets jaunes protesters, many of whom have travelled from some distance: Angelique has also been speaking to Dan Lodi, a 70-year-old retired furniture salesman, who took part in the May 68 protests:
Dan Lodi, 70, a Corsican retired furniture salesman, lives in the Paris banlieue. He has come to Paris every Saturday since the gilets janues demos began. “I was on the May 1968 barricades in Paris for three weeks when I was 20 and now I’m a gilet jaune aged 70," he said. 1/5 pic.twitter.com/y3FZx7QPOu
If you are not sure who the gilets jaunes are and what they want, Angelique Chrisafis has this:
A grassroots citizens’ protest movement began in early November against a planned rise in the tax on diesel and petrol, which Emmanuel Macron insisted would aid the country’s transition to green energy. A poll at the time found that the price of fuel had become France’s biggest talking point.
The movement was named “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) because protesters wear the fluorescent yellow high-vis jackets that all motorists must by law carry in their cars. But what began as a fuel tax protest has now morphed into a wider anti-government movement.
Unlike previous French protest movements, it sprang up online through petitions and was organised by ordinary working people posting videos on social media, without a set leader, trade union or political party behind it.
A first national day of protests was held across France on Saturday 17 November and the protests have continued daily, including roadblocks, barricades of roundabouts and the blockading of fuel depots.
You can fine Angelique’s full explainer here.
Our France correspondent, Kim Willsher, was also out and about in Paris early this morning and reported much of the city eerily deserted:
To avoid a repeat of shocking scenes of cars burning and the smashing and looting shops by fringe elements of the movement, police and gendarmes blocked off areas of central Paris, including roads around the Elysée palace.
Officers searched bags and backpacks confiscating masks used as protection from teargas, helmets and anything that could be used as a projectile.
Elsewhere, Paris was eerily quiet for a Saturday in December, one of the busiest days of the year for shopkeepers. Instead many stores were shut and boarded up.
Some without metal shutters or boarding, put high visibility vests in their window in a show of support and the hope of sparing them from destruction.
You can read her full story here.
The Guardian’s Paris Bureau chief, Angelique Chrisafis, is at the Place de la République in central Paris and has been talking to some of the gilets jaunes protesters, many of whom have travelled from some distance:
At République, dozens of gilets jaunes were gathering - many from the Paris banlieue and Picardie. "We need to be present everywhere across the city, not just the Champs Élysées" said one public sector worker #GiletsJaunesParis pic.twitter.com/L92xzNHBrBAt République, dozens of gilets jaunes were gathering - many from the Paris banlieue and Picardie. "We need to be present everywhere across the city, not just the Champs Élysées" said one public sector worker #GiletsJaunesParis pic.twitter.com/L92xzNHBrB
Laeticia, 32, a supermarket cashier from Picardie, said: "I've got 3 children & I can't see a future for them. We live in misery, with low salaries, constantly overdrawn at the bank. We can't back down now. There has to be a better way to run this country." pic.twitter.com/8ttx9NI1VcLaeticia, 32, a supermarket cashier from Picardie, said: "I've got 3 children & I can't see a future for them. We live in misery, with low salaries, constantly overdrawn at the bank. We can't back down now. There has to be a better way to run this country." pic.twitter.com/8ttx9NI1Vc
Tensions are mounting near the Champs-Elysées, the focal point of the protests, where the first rounds of tear gas have been fired as police try to disperse a crowd of an estimated 1,000 protesters. This from Aline Leclerc, a reporter for Le Monde:Tensions are mounting near the Champs-Elysées, the focal point of the protests, where the first rounds of tear gas have been fired as police try to disperse a crowd of an estimated 1,000 protesters. This from Aline Leclerc, a reporter for Le Monde:
Tension rue Arsène Boursaye, un cordon de gendarmes mobiles pris pr cible de jet de projectiles pic.twitter.com/pZpInonI7dTension rue Arsène Boursaye, un cordon de gendarmes mobiles pris pr cible de jet de projectiles pic.twitter.com/pZpInonI7d
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the fourth weekend of gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests in France.Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the fourth weekend of gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests in France.
Large parts of Paris are in lockdown and many tourist attractions, museums, major department stores and metro stations shut as the capital braces for possible violence and rioting from a fringe element of the protest movement.Large parts of Paris are in lockdown and many tourist attractions, museums, major department stores and metro stations shut as the capital braces for possible violence and rioting from a fringe element of the protest movement.
Nearly 90,000 police and gendarmes have been mobilised across the country, around 8,000 of them in the capital, officials have said, alongside a dozen VBRG armoured vehicles.Nearly 90,000 police and gendarmes have been mobilised across the country, around 8,000 of them in the capital, officials have said, alongside a dozen VBRG armoured vehicles.
Police have said more than 350 protesters have already been detained on Saturday morning – mainly preventive arrests as people arrived at Paris mainline stations.Police have said more than 350 protesters have already been detained on Saturday morning – mainly preventive arrests as people arrived at Paris mainline stations.
We will keep you up to date with developments throughout the day after last weekend’s protests saw the capital’s worst street unrest in more than half a century and France’s young centrist president, Emmanuel Macron, faces the stiffest challenge of his term so far.We will keep you up to date with developments throughout the day after last weekend’s protests saw the capital’s worst street unrest in more than half a century and France’s young centrist president, Emmanuel Macron, faces the stiffest challenge of his term so far.
Here is a map of key tourists sites and museums that were to be closed today. They include the Louvre museum, the Eiffel tower, the Galeries Lafayette department store and nearly 50 metro stations:
Our France correspondent, Kim Willsher, was out and about in Paris early this morning and reported much of the city eerily deserted:
To avoid a repeat of shocking scenes of cars burning and the smashing and looting shops by fringe elements of the movement, police and gendarmes blocked off areas of central Paris, including roads around the Elysée palace.
Officers searched bags and backpacks confiscating masks used as protection from teargas, helmets and anything that could be used as a projectile.
Elsewhere, Paris was eerily quiet for a Saturday in December, one of the busiest days of the year for shopkeepers. Instead many stores were shut and boarded up.
Some without metal shutters or boarding, put high visibility vests in their window in a show of support and the hope of sparing them from destruction.
You can read her full story here.
If you don’t know who the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) are, or what they are protesting about, the Guardian’s Paris bureau chief, Angelique Chrisafis, has a full rundown here:
Who are the gilets jaunes and what do they want?