133 people were injured, and another 412 people were arrested during the riots.
A group known as ‘The Yellow Vests’ are said to be at the centre of a series of violent riots in the French capital this weekend, which resulted in numerous torched cars, high amounts of property destruction and vandalism, and dozens of people being hospitalised.
The group were created in reaction to a recent rise in taxes in diesel, which then grew into a series of anti-government protests that have swept France over the last fortnight.
This weekend’s demonstrations had much smaller numbers than the initial march on 17 November (reportedly 75,000, down from 282,000), but the actual riots themselves are the worst that the country has seen in years.
President Macron was in Buenos Aires at the time of the riots, but made the following statement before getting on a flight back to France:
“I will never accept violence. No cause justifies that authorities are attacked, that businesses are plundered, that passers-by or journalists are threatened or that the Arc du Triomphe is defiled.”
While there have already been reports of the rioting continuing in Paris on Sunday morning, the details of Saturday’s events are still being tallied, with over 190 fires reported across the city. 133 people are reported to have been injured, including 23 members of the security forces. 412 people were arrested, with 378 of them still in custody at the time of writing.
Interior Minister Castaner was asked about the state of emergency, to which he replied “Nothing is taboo for me. I am prepared to examine everything.”
Macron is to have an crisis meeting with the prime minister, interior minister and top security service officials at the presidential palace today to discuss the course of action following these incidents.
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