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| Paris on lockdown for gilets jaunes protests - live updates | Paris on lockdown for gilets jaunes protests - live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Protests are also under way in many towns and cities outside Paris, of course. In Toulouse, Le Monde’s correspondent reports that about 300 demonstrators have gathered and are singing the French national anthem ahead of a planned protest march due to begin soon: | |
| Environ 300 GJ entonnent La Marseillaise à Toulouse à Arnaud Bernard en attendant lycéens et étudiants et la marche pour le climat qui devrait débuter à 14 h pic.twitter.com/t5Ap8MuHvy | |
| More figures, this time from the interior ministry: | |
| By 1pm local time on Saturday, 31,000 gilets jaunes protesters had been recorded across France, compared with 36,000 at the same time last weekend. | |
| Police had stopped and questioned a total of 700 people, including 575 in Paris. | |
| The relative calm appears to be holding, at least on the Champs-Élysées. | |
| Police have announced a total 361 arrests during Saturday morning, most of them preventative. | |
| According to Le Parisien, “despite some tense moments on the Champs-Elysées and several attempts to bloc the périphérique ring road at Porte Maillot, no major incidents have been reported in the capital”. | |
| A charter of gilets jaunes’ “suggestions to end this crisis” has been circulating widely on Facebook. | A charter of gilets jaunes’ “suggestions to end this crisis” has been circulating widely on Facebook. |
| While far from “official” - the movement has no national structure, central organisation or even agreed representatives - it does illustrate the diverse, and sometimes contradictory, nature of their demands: | While far from “official” - the movement has no national structure, central organisation or even agreed representatives - it does illustrate the diverse, and sometimes contradictory, nature of their demands: |
| Economy/work: | Economy/work: |
| - a full review of taxation, with no citizen to be taxed at more than 25% of income; an immediate 40% increase in the minimum wage, pensions and benefits; “mass hirings” in the state sector to restore quality of service in hospitals, schools etc; 5m new homes; make banks “smaller” | - a full review of taxation, with no citizen to be taxed at more than 25% of income; an immediate 40% increase in the minimum wage, pensions and benefits; “mass hirings” in the state sector to restore quality of service in hospitals, schools etc; 5m new homes; make banks “smaller” |
| Politics: | Politics: |
| - France’s constitution to be rewritten “by the people and for the interests of the people”; lobbying to be banned; Frexit: France should leave the EU; recover €80bn lost to tax evasion each year; halt and/or reverse all privatisations; removal of “useless” speed cameras; complete reform of education system, removal of all “ideologies”; quadruple budget of judicial system, which must be simplified, free and accessible for all; break up media monopolies and halt cosy relationship between media and political class; open media up to the people | |
| Health/environment: | Health/environment: |
| - 10-year guarantee on products to end planned obsolescence; ban plastic bottles; limit power of pharmaceutical companies; ban GM foods, carcinogenic pesticides, monoculture; reindustrialise France to reduce imports and therefore pollution | - 10-year guarantee on products to end planned obsolescence; ban plastic bottles; limit power of pharmaceutical companies; ban GM foods, carcinogenic pesticides, monoculture; reindustrialise France to reduce imports and therefore pollution |
| Geopolitics: | Geopolitics: |
| - Pull France out of Nato and foreign wars; end the plunder of French-speaking Africa; prevent migration flows that cannot be welcomed or integrated given current “civilisational crisis”; scrupulous respect of international law and engagements | - Pull France out of Nato and foreign wars; end the plunder of French-speaking Africa; prevent migration flows that cannot be welcomed or integrated given current “civilisational crisis”; scrupulous respect of international law and engagements |
| Une nouvelle liste de revendications (qui n'a rien d'''officielle") commence à pas mal circuler sur Facebook. Le point 9 va vous étonner (ou pas). pic.twitter.com/we4budZaSZ | Une nouvelle liste de revendications (qui n'a rien d'''officielle") commence à pas mal circuler sur Facebook. Le point 9 va vous étonner (ou pas). pic.twitter.com/we4budZaSZ |
| The interior ministry has posted this video of police stopping and searching protesters before they are allowed to continue without any “objects or equipment that could be used as weapons”: | The interior ministry has posted this video of police stopping and searching protesters before they are allowed to continue without any “objects or equipment that could be used as weapons”: |
| #8Décembre : Les opérations de contrôles et de fouilles sont effectuées par les forces de l’ordre. Elles permettent d'écarter les objets et équipements qui pourraient constituer des armes par destination. pic.twitter.com/qRDp5iQJAm | #8Décembre : Les opérations de contrôles et de fouilles sont effectuées par les forces de l’ordre. Elles permettent d'écarter les objets et équipements qui pourraient constituer des armes par destination. pic.twitter.com/qRDp5iQJAm |
| Paris police have announced that by midday in the French capital, 514 people had been stopped and questioned - already more than during during last Saturday’s protests - and a total of 272 arrested, mainly preventatively. | Paris police have announced that by midday in the French capital, 514 people had been stopped and questioned - already more than during during last Saturday’s protests - and a total of 272 arrested, mainly preventatively. |
| Reporters on the Champs-Élysées suggest this new tactic may be working: for the time being, there has been no repeat of the serious violence seen last weekend, and after a few early skirmishes the atmosphere appears, for the time being, to be relatively calm: | |
| L’ambiance est redevenue calme. Ms les gendarmes mobiles empêchent les #giletsjaunes de quitter les Champs-Elysées. « Mais pourquoi vous faites ça, ça va faire l’effet d’une cocotte-minute, et à la fin ça explose » dit un gilet jaune. Les blindés ont pris position à l’étoile. pic.twitter.com/eyaYwdXv6R | L’ambiance est redevenue calme. Ms les gendarmes mobiles empêchent les #giletsjaunes de quitter les Champs-Elysées. « Mais pourquoi vous faites ça, ça va faire l’effet d’une cocotte-minute, et à la fin ça explose » dit un gilet jaune. Les blindés ont pris position à l’étoile. pic.twitter.com/eyaYwdXv6R |
| Angelique has also been speaking to Dan Lodi, a 70-year-old retired furniture salesman, who took part in the May 68 protests: | 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 | 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 |
| Lodi added: | Lodi added: |
| In France we’ve been having revolutions since 1789, we got rid of the king but we’re still fighting because the rich still have power and inequality is still there. | In France we’ve been having revolutions since 1789, we got rid of the king but we’re still fighting because the rich still have power and inequality is still there. |
| In 68, everyone was behind us, we paralysed the economy with the largest strike in modern French history. So we need everyone now to get on board & demonstrate. It’s not enough for the gov to promise little tweaks, they need to rethink economic policy. | In 68, everyone was behind us, we paralysed the economy with the largest strike in modern French history. So we need everyone now to get on board & demonstrate. It’s not enough for the gov to promise little tweaks, they need to rethink economic policy. |
| I’m against the violence, I’m staying away from tear-gas. But I understand some people’s view – they think that in May 68, the government only listened when we picked up paving stones & started throwing them. I’d rather the gov listened to peaceful demonstrators. | I’m against the violence, I’m staying away from tear-gas. But I understand some people’s view – they think that in May 68, the government only listened when we picked up paving stones & started throwing them. I’d rather the gov listened to peaceful demonstrators. |
| My pension has shrunk because Macron increased taxes on pensioners, my children can’t make ends meet. My 20-year-old grandson is here today because he sees no future, even as an IT student. The government has to start listening. | My pension has shrunk because Macron increased taxes on pensioners, my children can’t make ends meet. My 20-year-old grandson is here today because he sees no future, even as an IT student. The government has to start listening. |
| If you are not sure who the gilets jaunes are and what they want, Angelique Chrisafis has this: | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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: | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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: | 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/L92xzNHBrB | 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/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/8ttx9NI1Vc | 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/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/pZpInonI7d | Tension 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. |