The ‘yellow vest’ protests erupted across France on November 17 over French president Emmanuel Macron’s plans for further fuel tax increases. Every day since, people wearing fluorescent high-visibility jackets have protested against the squeeze on the household budgets of hard-pressed middle class and blue-collar workers.
From the second weekend of protests, demonstrators started gathering in Paris where violence and police repression have risen. Police used tear gas, water canon and horses to charge protesters hurling projectiles, torching cars and ransacking some shops. Weekend demonstrations in central Paris have unleashed the worst violence seen in the capital since the 1968 student riots.