Armoured vehicles rolled through central Paris on Saturday as riot police clashed with and arrested “yellow vest” protesters, who set fire to barricades and hurled rocks in the latest demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron.
Shouts of “Macron, resign” mingled with tear gas on the Champs-Elysees avenue, which was the scene of the worst rioting in Paris in decades last week. Thick plumes of black smoke from fires could be seen rising high into the sky over the city.
Meanwhile, around 70 people were arrested on Saturday in the Belgian capital Brussels during copycat “yellow vest” demonstrations rocking neighbouring France, Belgian police said.
The area housing European institutions including the offices of the European Commission and the European Parliament was sealed off as a precautionary measure.