French President Emmanuel Macron was criticised after attending a Celine Dion concert last night as France braced itself for another day of protests and riots.
France‘s Yellow Vest activists are joining student marches on Saturday with riot police already firing tear gas at numerous flashpoints as hundreds of thousands are expected to march across the country.
But President Macron, 48, was lambasted for his carefree appearance at the Plenitude arena in Paris on Friday with wife Brigitte, 73, where the couple were seen dancing and enjoying the music in a private box.
Just hours later, violence had already broken out in cities including the capital and Marseille early on Saturday, with 61 arrests in Paris alone by 11am, and 166 arrests nationwide, authorities said.
Students, trade unionists and remnants of the Yellow Vest movement are joining forces to demonstrate against poor school conditions, high prices and the country’s fraying social model.
By mid-morning fires were raging across multiple cities as protesters formed makeshift barricades and clashed with police.
Groups blocked roads around the Gare du Nord and Right-wing media organisation CNews’ offices in Paris, while tear gas was used against protesters in Marseille and Lyon.
Shops and businesses have barricaded their windows and doors and multiple metro stations in Paris are closed.
French President Emmanuel Macron had called for calm last night, asking that protesters maintained ‘respect for people and property’.
A police source said last night as many as 200,000 are expected to take part across the country today, including 40,000 in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte were spotted at a Celine Dion concert in Paris last night
A protester waving a French national flag walks past a fire in Marseille on Saturday morning – as clashes are expected across the country
Students, trade unionists and members of the Gilets Jaunes – Yellow Jackets – are joining forces in nationwide protests today
A protester holds a weapon (right) believed to be a paintball pistol outside a police station in Marseille
The presidential couple were spotted at the Plenitude Arena in Paris hours before the country was rocked by violence again
Protesters block roads during a demonstration near to the Gare du Nord in Paris on Saturday
Police officers push back a line of protesters in Paris on Saturday morning
Officers in Marseille arrest a protester on Saturday morning after thousands gathered in the city
Riot police on the streets of Paris on Saturday as flares are thrown by rioters
People gather in Paris holding placards as they protest high prices and poor economic and social conditions
Protesters gather at the Place de la Republique in Paris on Saturday, where they waved the French flag and set off flares
The initial wave of protests began last month at high schools in Paris’s poor northern suburbs, where anger over teacher absences and shabby facilities quickly morphed into a nationwide movement against inequality, weak public spending and falling standards.
The protests come at a difficult time for France, as President Emmanuel Macron enters the final stretch of his presidency, leaving behind a polarised electorate and a fragmented domestic political situation.
Investors ditching French debt, driving borrowing costs to their highest levels in more than two decades, have also underlined the country’s long struggle to get its public finances in order.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Thursday that authorities fear unrest during the protests. The government blames the hard-Left France Unbowed (LFI) for inflaming the protests, an accusation LFI denies.
‘This is a moment of fatigue in the country,’ Lecornu said. ‘We are in an atmosphere of perma-crisis: wars, inflation, and issues surrounding purchasing power.’
Opposition chief Jordan Bardella, whose far-Right National Rally leads in the polls ahead of next year’s presidential election, said he expected violence.
‘I’m extremely concerned,’ he said during a visit to the Paris car show. ‘It will be a day of chaos for France.’
Lecornu has said the recent protests have been among the most violent in decades, with more than 900 police injured so far.
The police have also drawn criticism for their response after reports of serious injuries sustained by protesters, including one 15-year-old who had his hand blown off after picking up a police stun grenade, and a 16-year-old who was blinded by a rubber bullet.
A fire is seen on the streets of Marseille, France as protests continued on Saturday
Riot police in Marseille hold shields covered in paint thrown by activists
Protesters flee tear gas in Marseille on Saturday as thousands gathered in the city
Tear gas canisters fired by police in Marseille on Saturday saw protesters scatter
Protesters damage a police station in Marseille on Saturday amid nationwide protests
An officer was charged with aggravated violence on Tuesday after allegedly firing the bullet at the student in Tours, France on Sept 30. The family of the injured pupil have blamed the force.
The internal police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen cases of alleged police violence. France suspended the use of stun grenades for the student demonstrations, but Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said they could be used in Saturday’s protest.
‘If there were to be clashes, all types of intermediate weapons can be used,’ he told Telematin on Friday.
Calls on social media for members of past protest movements to join the fray appear to have worked, raising questions about just how large the protests could grow.
The Yellow Vest movement started in 2018 as a protest against taxes on diesel before morphing into an outpouring of anger at high living costs and income inequality. However, things have been largely quiet since Macron agreed to billions of euros in tax cuts.
Yannick Maillou, a teacher from La Crèche in western France, joined the Yellow Vests in 2018 and remains involved in the movement. He said there were several nearby meeting points for protesters to gather on Saturday, with unions also calling on their members to join.
‘Groups of people providing medical assistance are forming in anticipation of police violence,’ he said.
Myrtil Devillers, another Yellow Vest protester, said he was sympathetic to the protesters’ ‘explosive catch-all of grievances’ although he won’t be protesting on Saturday as he is abroad.
‘I was a Yellow Vest protester when petrol cost €1.40 a litre, so imagine how I feel now that it’s €2.20,’ he said.
‘The justice system is complaining; the education system is complaining; the healthcare sector is complaining; my friends who run businesses are complaining.’
