French police fire "tear" against yellow jackets

Sky News Arab - Abu Dhabi
French police fired tear gas to disperse protesters throwing ballistics and setting fire to waste bins in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux when the "Yellow Jackets" protests in its 14th week saw a violent turnaround in the afternoon.

In northern Rouen, authorities said four people were injured after a car driver tried to make his way through a crowd of protesters.

Earlier on Saturday, protesters gathered at the symbolic rally point at the Arc de Triomphe, which was a point of clashes with police in the early days of protest before walking towards the Eiffel Tower.

Late in the afternoon, police and some masked protesters clashed in central Paris where the march was expected to end, forcing some to go to nearby streets where there were reports of skirmishes.
In Bordeaux and Lyon, police also fired tear gas to disperse protesters who fired ballistics after burning garbage cans and destroying property.

A poll last week showed support for the protests, which began in November because of fuel taxes, has turned into a broader objection to politicians and a government they see as lacking in contact with citizens.

More than half said they wanted violent protests to end sometimes.

But some protesters said they were part of a humanitarian movement aimed at improving the lives of everyone in the country.

The government estimates that the number of demonstrators fell from more than 300,000 across the country in November to about 51 thousand last week.

The French Interior Ministry said some 4,150 demonstrators had taken part in protests across the country on Saturday compared to 51,400 last week.