France's "yellow vest" protesters were back on the streets again Saturday as a government spokesman denounced those still protesting as hard-liners who wanted only to bring down the government. Around a thousand protesters gathered on the Champs-Elysees in central Paris, where around 15 police wagons were also deployed, an AFP journalist said.
Some paused outside the headquarters of Agence France-Presse (AFP) in central Paris to hurl anti-media insults. Police fired tear gas in the capital after protesters threw projectiles at police and AFP journalists saw minor scuffles near the River Seine as up to 4,000 joined the fray in the city by the afternoon, according to police.
Some protesters set bins ablaze and material damage included several burned out motorcycles strewn across streets. "I am here to defend the right of my children to work that enables them to eat. My daughter earns 800 euros ($911) a month. She works 25 hours a week in a baker's. For her, it's about surviving," said one protester, 58-year-old Ghislaine. Several other cities across France also saw small marches - including up to 2,000 in Rouen northwest of Paris, where at least two arrests were made and one protester was hurt by a projectile after demonstrators set fire to a barricade.
The scale and intensity of the protests has shrivelled in recent weeks, however, and authorities put Saturday's nationwide turnout at around 12,000, compared with 282,000 for the initial rally on November 17.
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