Paris yellow vest protest descends into violence

Paris yellow vest protest descends into violence

Dozens of motorbikes and cars have been set on fire in eastern Paris as a yellow vest protest descended into violence.

Riot police fired tear gas to try and disperse the protesters around the Place de la Republique, but demonstrators responded by starting fires and throwing flares and paving stones.

Boarded up shops in the area were attacked by some radical protesters, and police repeatedly charged as they tried to contain the crowd.

France protests
A protester throws a scooter on to a pile of burning motorbikes in eastern Paris (Michel Euler/AP)

French television showed images of volunteer medics treating a yellow-vested protester lying on the ground, with the smell of tear gas mixed with black smoke choking the air.

Witnesses reported seeing at least two journalists injured in the melee.

France protests
The air was thick with black smoke (Michel Euler/AP)

Multiple protests are being held around Paris and other French cities on Saturday for the 23rd weekend of the yellow vest movement against wealth inequality and President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership.

France protests
Riot police had fired tear gas at protesters in a bid to disperse them (Francisco Seco/AP)

Many protesters were deeply saddened by the fire at the national monument. But at the same time they are angry at the one billion US dollars (£770 million) in Notre Dame donations that poured in from tycoons while their own demands remain largely unmet and they struggle to make ends meet.

France protests
A demonstrator throws a tear gas canister back at police (Michel Euler/AP)

He is now expected to do so next Thursday.

Yellow vest critics accuse Mr Macron of trying to exploit the fire for political gain – one group marching on Saturday even accused Macon of “burning down Notre Dame”.

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