‘Yellow vest’ protesters held as clashes break out

PARIS: French police said they arrested more than 200 “yellow vest” demonstrators in Paris as clashes broke out, with demonstrators turning out for a 23rd week of anti-government protests.

AFP journalists reported scuffles between police and protesters in the afternoon, after hours of calm, as police used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse marchers in the centre of the French capital.

Some protesters threw bottles and other objects at police and set fire to vehicles, safety barriers and bins.

Between the two major squares of Bastille and Republique the damage done had been considerable, said deputy mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire.

Across France, the authorities mobilised more than 60,000 police officers and gendarmes to try and contain what they feared would be a surge in violence similar to the March 16 riots along the ChampsElysees.

Paris police reported 227 arrests and over 20,500 checks on individual protesters. By early evening, 178 had been detained, including six minors, said the prosecutors office.

Yellow vest protests were also banned from the area around Notre-Dame Cathedral, parts of which are still sealed off after Monday’s devastating blaze.

But more than one protester expressed frustration at the largesse of several French tycoons who have promised millions towards the cathedral’s restoration.

“We’re worth a cathedral,” said one placard at a protest in Montpellier.

— AP Red hot anger: A protester throwing parts of a scooter onto a pile of burning motorbikes during a demonstration in Paris.