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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) | |
| Saturday’s protests in numbers, according to the authorities: | |
| an estimated 8,000 gilets jaunes in Paris | |
| 673 stopped and questioned | |
| 551 arrested | |
| 55 people, including some police officers, injured | |
| Most of those arrested have been detained for “participation in a gathering intending to prepare violent acts against people or the destruction of property”. | |
| The leader of the far-right National Rally (formerly known as the Front National), Marine Le Pen, has again called on President Macron to address what she called the “suffering that is being expressed” through the protests: | |
| He must come up with a response, come out of the Élysée palace, stop walling himself in inside the Élysée ... The response of the president of the Republic to this movement cannot just be based on policing. | |
| John Lichfield, the veteran Paris-based journalist and Guardian commentator, has been out for “a little tour” as dusk falls in the capital. | |
| He concludes that most of the provincial gilets jaunes protesters are now heading home, but a hard core of “casseurs” (agitators) remains, divided into small groups around the capital: | |
| Police tactics have been more pro-active, taking on groups of "casseurs" (thugs) as they appear. But the crowd was also different. Last week much violence was initiated by angry people from the provinces or outer suburbs. This week the violence came mostly from urban extremists. | |
| Emmanuel Macron is due to address the nation early next week, the Elysee palace said on Friday, adding that the president did not want to “pour oil on the flames” by speaking before Saturday’s protests. | |
| What are the consequences of the gilets jaunes movement for Macron? The Guardian’s Paris bureau chief, Angelique Chrisafis, says this in her explainer: | |
| This is the first big crisis of Macron’s presidency. The 40-year-old pro-business, pro-Europe centrist has staked his political identity on insisting he would never give in to street protests. But polls suggest he is seen as not listening to the concerns of ordinary working people on low incomes, and he is under pressure to make concessions. | |
| It is damaging that Macron – whose own fledgling political movement, La République En Marche, was styled as a grassroots movement to listen to the people – was taken by surprise by this sudden tax revolt. Although Macron beat the far-right Marine Le Pen in last year’s presidential election, the mood of distrust of the political class never went away. | |
| The first 18 months of Macron’s presidency were defined by his drive for businesses to become more competitive; he cut taxes on companies and transformed France’s wealth tax, easing the tax burden on the very wealthy. | |
| He is now under pressure to consider the gilets jaunes’ demands, and to that end the government executed a U-turn on 5 December when it scrapped the fuel tax rise, one day after announcing a six-month freeze on the policy. | |
| According to the latest figures from the interior ministry, 1,000 people have been stopped and questioned across the country, and 720 remain in custody. | |
| Separately, the gendarmerie have said some 5,000 cars have been stopped and checked on the national road network, with a several “violent individuals, carrying dangerous objects, subsequently arrested”. | |
| Several people, including two photographers from Le Parisien have been wounded by flash balls - a kind of rubber bullet - fired by police, the paper said. | Several people, including two photographers from Le Parisien have been wounded by flash balls - a kind of rubber bullet - fired by police, the paper said. |
| One photographer, hit in the neck, was taken to hsopital after losing consciousness. A policeman apologised, saying he was “aiming at someone else”. | |
| Plusieurs blessés (parmi eux deux photojournalistes du Parisien) ont été touchés par des tirs de flash-ball dans les manifestations de ce samedi --> https://t.co/LkZIS7Ty1z pic.twitter.com/OjrgHNECQ3 | Plusieurs blessés (parmi eux deux photojournalistes du Parisien) ont été touchés par des tirs de flash-ball dans les manifestations de ce samedi --> https://t.co/LkZIS7Ty1z pic.twitter.com/OjrgHNECQ3 |
| Kim has been in court this week, watching some of the protesters arrested last week being tried: | Kim has been in court this week, watching some of the protesters arrested last week being tried: |
| It was a depressing performance in which the main actors seemed to be missing, leaving a cast of extras to take centre stage in France’s latest national political drama. | It was a depressing performance in which the main actors seemed to be missing, leaving a cast of extras to take centre stage in France’s latest national political drama. |
| The accused were mostly young men in their 30s, some a little younger, a few older, neatly dressed in smart but sombre clothes. | The accused were mostly young men in their 30s, some a little younger, a few older, neatly dressed in smart but sombre clothes. |
| Well-spoken, tidy, clipped beards and short hair, these gilets jaunes (yellow vests) seemed hardly the stone-throwing, shop-smashing rabble those packed into the public benches had come to watch. | Well-spoken, tidy, clipped beards and short hair, these gilets jaunes (yellow vests) seemed hardly the stone-throwing, shop-smashing rabble those packed into the public benches had come to watch. |
| Few earned more than €1,200-€1,500 a month and they admitted it was a struggle to make ends meet. They were largely unknown to the police until now and had just spent their first nights in jail. | Few earned more than €1,200-€1,500 a month and they admitted it was a struggle to make ends meet. They were largely unknown to the police until now and had just spent their first nights in jail. |
| ... | ... |
| They were not there because they had been demonstrating; that was a fundamental right, the judges declared, but because they were accused of being casseurs – vandals, looters, rioters, breakers. The proof was in their pockets and bags: stones, gloves, sticks, slingshots, even fireworks. | They were not there because they had been demonstrating; that was a fundamental right, the judges declared, but because they were accused of being casseurs – vandals, looters, rioters, breakers. The proof was in their pockets and bags: stones, gloves, sticks, slingshots, even fireworks. |
| You can read Kim’s full piece here. | You can read Kim’s full piece here. |
| The Guardian’s Kim Willsher is on the Place de la République in central Paris, where all appears relatively calm: | The Guardian’s Kim Willsher is on the Place de la République in central Paris, where all appears relatively calm: |
| Place de la République. Not as quiet as this morning but calm. Loads of police around but watching. pic.twitter.com/TDjk3HOUVF | Place de la République. Not as quiet as this morning but calm. Loads of police around but watching. pic.twitter.com/TDjk3HOUVF |
| By mid-afternoon, several cars have been set ablaze, mainly in the wealthy 16th and 17th arrondissements, and police continue to play a game of cat-and-mouse with small groups of violent protesters in the 3rd, not far from the Pompidou Centre. | By mid-afternoon, several cars have been set ablaze, mainly in the wealthy 16th and 17th arrondissements, and police continue to play a game of cat-and-mouse with small groups of violent protesters in the 3rd, not far from the Pompidou Centre. |
| The general level of damage in central Paris is so far significantly less than last Saturday, French media report. According to the police, 615 people have been stopped and questioned in Paris since Saturday morning, and 508 arrested. | The general level of damage in central Paris is so far significantly less than last Saturday, French media report. According to the police, 615 people have been stopped and questioned in Paris since Saturday morning, and 508 arrested. |
| Several people have been injured in Toulouse, Le Monde reports, and tensions are mounting in Lyon: | Several people have been injured in Toulouse, Le Monde reports, and tensions are mounting in Lyon: |
| Carrefours bloqués de part et d'autre du pont de la Guillotiere, groupes mobiles et désordonné, lacrymogène sur la berge gauche du Rhône, la tension monte à Lyon. pic.twitter.com/Q8CyTe1uX2 | Carrefours bloqués de part et d'autre du pont de la Guillotiere, groupes mobiles et désordonné, lacrymogène sur la berge gauche du Rhône, la tension monte à Lyon. pic.twitter.com/Q8CyTe1uX2 |
| And Angelique Chrisafis speaks to an elderly Marais resident who is relieved not to be among the “bad ones”: | And Angelique Chrisafis speaks to an elderly Marais resident who is relieved not to be among the “bad ones”: |
| Gilets jaunes marching through the Marais singing the national anthem & chanting" "If you're gilet jaune and pacifist clap your hands". An elderly lady peered out of the door of a church jumble sale, "It's ok, they're not the bad ones," she said. pic.twitter.com/Mh6twE5C9T | Gilets jaunes marching through the Marais singing the national anthem & chanting" "If you're gilet jaune and pacifist clap your hands". An elderly lady peered out of the door of a church jumble sale, "It's ok, they're not the bad ones," she said. pic.twitter.com/Mh6twE5C9T |
| Veteran Paris reporter and occasional Guardian opinion writer John Lichfield is out and about as things degenerate on the avenue Marceau. He notices a change from last week’s demonstrations: | Veteran Paris reporter and occasional Guardian opinion writer John Lichfield is out and about as things degenerate on the avenue Marceau. He notices a change from last week’s demonstrations: |
| Pitched battle now on swanky Avenue Marceau, as large group of urban guerrilla types try to march up to arc de Triomphe. Once again they don't look to me like the amateur provincial Gilets Jaunes guerrillas who wreaked destruction last week. | Pitched battle now on swanky Avenue Marceau, as large group of urban guerrilla types try to march up to arc de Triomphe. Once again they don't look to me like the amateur provincial Gilets Jaunes guerrillas who wreaked destruction last week. |
| Paris police have reported that 30 people have been wounded in the gilets jaunes protests so far on Saturday, including three police officers. | Paris police have reported that 30 people have been wounded in the gilets jaunes protests so far on Saturday, including three police officers. |
| The statement did not say how severe the injuries were. | The statement did not say how severe the injuries were. |
| Tensions remain high on the central Grands Boulevards and rue Réaumur, reports Le Parisien. | Tensions remain high on the central Grands Boulevards and rue Réaumur, reports Le Parisien. |
| In the capital’s third arrondissement, police have carried out a cavalry charge to disperse a small group of violent rioters, according to BFMTV. | In the capital’s third arrondissement, police have carried out a cavalry charge to disperse a small group of violent rioters, according to BFMTV. |
| La tension monte d'un cran dans les rues de Paris, avec plusieurs enseignes dégradés au niveau des Grands Boulevards et de la rue Réaumur --> https://t.co/MPbpzCVWC0 pic.twitter.com/vgOgTjHD6b | La tension monte d'un cran dans les rues de Paris, avec plusieurs enseignes dégradés au niveau des Grands Boulevards et de la rue Réaumur --> https://t.co/MPbpzCVWC0 pic.twitter.com/vgOgTjHD6b |
| The French interior ministry denies a rumour that police officers are disguising themselves as protesters, and urges people to watch out for fake news. | The French interior ministry denies a rumour that police officers are disguising themselves as protesters, and urges people to watch out for fake news. |
| The gilets jaunes movement is being partly fuelled by conspiracy theories and fake news on social media, including widely spread claims that the president, Emmanuel Macron, has scrapped France’s constitution or is “selling France” to the United Nations, World Bank or other international organisations planning to let millions of migrants take over France. | The gilets jaunes movement is being partly fuelled by conspiracy theories and fake news on social media, including widely spread claims that the president, Emmanuel Macron, has scrapped France’s constitution or is “selling France” to the United Nations, World Bank or other international organisations planning to let millions of migrants take over France. |
| The reports have been viewed several million times. | The reports have been viewed several million times. |
| #8Décembre Non les forces de l'ordre ne se font pas passer pour des manifestants. Il peuvent intervenir en tenue civile ! Méfiez-vous de ce que vous lisez et des images qui circulent. Nos conseils pour décrypter les fausses informations ⬇️ #ChampsElysees https://t.co/t29QOE4uJl | #8Décembre Non les forces de l'ordre ne se font pas passer pour des manifestants. Il peuvent intervenir en tenue civile ! Méfiez-vous de ce que vous lisez et des images qui circulent. Nos conseils pour décrypter les fausses informations ⬇️ #ChampsElysees https://t.co/t29QOE4uJl |