Paris police have arrested 40 people following stop-and-searches carried out across the capital as of 9:30am Saturday morning, the city's police prefecture said. The arrests were largely made due to people being found carrying "prohibited protective gear or weapons", the prefecture said in a statement. The prefecture alleged that a false police armband and a knife had been among the items seized.
Demonstrations were banned across swathes of the capital in the lead-up to the nationwide protests.
The Paris offices of right-wing news network CNews was blockaded by a crowd of roughly a hundred protesters in the early hours of the morning, the capital’s police prefecture said, adding that police had detained 21 people. A group of “masked individuals” blocked the entrance to the parking lot of the building in western Paris, which is also home to the Europe 1 network.
Protesters reportedly threw projectiles and broke several windows. Both networks are owned by right-wing billionaire Vincent Bolloré.
In the port city of Marseille in southern France, Prado Boulevard was briefly barricaded by protesters with bins and scooters before riot police drove them from the streets with tear gas." We're here to protest the shameful resources given to education, and against police violence," said university student Aude, who was wearing a mask over her face."
Young people have a clear message – we just want to be educated under good conditions," she added. Photos: Thibaud Moritz, AFP
Officers belonging to the BRAV-M motorised police brigade seem to checking the identities of a group of protesters in yellow vests at Saint-Lazare station in central Paris, according to videos posted online by CLPRESSE news agency.
A group of demonstrators have tried to block traffic by setting up burning barricades in the city of Rennes in Britanny, the regional police prefecture said on social media. Law enforcement officers are being deployed to the site.
Police have begun to launch tear gas against dozens of young people demonstrating in the southeast city of Lyon. Videos shared by local media seemed to show police detaining demonstrators who had allegedly been trying to block the city's roads.
Saturday's planned demonstrations were not initially linked to the original Yellow Vest movement, which began in 2018 with widespread protests over rising fuel prices before growing into a broader revolt against economic inequality that drew tens of thousands onto the streets.
The movement takes its name from the fluorescent yellow high-visibility vests that French law requires drivers to carry in their vehicles and which protesters wore during demonstrations. Read more about how this movement is looking to add its strength to the student-led protests by clicking on the link below.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France 2 that police officers could use stun grenades in case of "extremely serious urban violence".He had suspended their use during the student protests after one stun grenade fired by police blew off the hand of a 15-year-old.
Organisers of Saturday's demonstrations have set up a website showing more than 600 demonstrations planned across France. Paris police chief Patrice Faure banned demonstrations around the Élysée presidential palace, the prime minister's office and the Champs-Élysée shopping avenue, among other key locations.
Police also banned a major march through the heart of the capital and negotiations with organisers over an alternative route failed to reach agreement. The main Paris demonstration was to start at 2pm (12:00 GMT) at Place de la République and head to northern Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm on the eve of nationwide cost-of-living protests Saturday as students, trade unionists and remnants of the Yellow Vest movement join forces to protest the country's fraying social model. Speaking from Brussels, Macron called "for calm and respect", adding that the right to protest went hand in hand with "respect for people and property"."
We're expecting a pretty big turnout," Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France 2 television. A police source told AFP that authorities estimated nearly 200,000 people could take part, with 40,000 in Paris.
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