Paris police fired tear gas at protesters to drive back “yellow vest” protesters marking the first anniversary of the demonstrations.
Dozens of cops in riot gear guarded the Arc de Triomphe overlooking the Champs-Elysees avenue, the scene of weekly riots and police crackdowns at the height of the protests last year, the Associated Press reported.
The movement was sparked by President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for a gas price hike and the high cost of living. The demonstrations then grew into a broader movement against Macron and his economic reforms.
Officers used repeated rounds of tear gas on Saturday at groups gathered near Porte de Champerret, in the northwest, and Place d’Italie in the southeast of the city.
At least 33 people were arrested by late morning.
At the Place d’Italie, protesters set trash bins on fire and hurled projectiles at riot police while building barricades, Reuters reported. Clashes broke out near the Porte de Champerret as protesters were preparing to march across town. Police also intervened to prevent a few hundred demonstrators from occupying the Paris ring road.
Corentin Pihel, 28, told the AP he joined the movement two weeks after it started, identifying with its mission as a struggling student at the time. “In the beginning, I found that the movement made a lot of sense, to mobilize from the bottom for better buying power,” Pihel said. “But after, it enlarged its communication to become much greater — it’s just people who want to live. And I felt a real solidarity.”
Around the southern city of Marseilles, yellow-vested protesters gathered at traffic circles to remind the government of their discontent.
Last year, the scattered protests erupted into a nationwide outpouring of anger at perceived social and economic injustice — and especially at centrist, pro-business Macron. Macron backed down on the fuel tax and offered $11 billion in measures to address protesters’ concerns.