Kim Willsher – The Guardian
Police have used teargas and water cannon against fuel tax protesters in Paris after violent clashes erupted on the Champs Élysées.
Thousands of demonstrators from all over France massed on the famous boulevard on Saturday to express their anger at the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his government. But what was supposed to be a peaceful protest by the gilets jaunes (yellow jackets) movement degenerated rapidly.
On one side, protesters reportedly infiltrated by far-right extremists and casseurs (rioters and hooligans) tore up paving stones and hurled them and other missiles at police before building barricades that they set alight. On the other, police used teargas, pepper spray, water cannon and bulldozers to clear the road.
Each time the police advanced, protesters rebuilt the barricades, using metal barriers from roadworks and construction sites, rubbish bins and anything else they could find. Many gilets jaunes attempted to withdraw as violence erupted, but were hampered by advancing police. Others retreated, but vowed to remain at the protest. “We were here as pacifists and we were gassed. But we will stay here all day because Macron has to listen,” said one man, who gave his name as Jacques.
A week ago around 280,000 gilets jaunes took part in protests at more than 2,000 locations across France. The demonstrations left two dead and more than 600 injured. The movement, sparked by rises in tax on fuel, has no official leaders and has expressly shunned any political affiliation. Unofficial representatives had called on protesters to bring Paris to a standstill on Saturday.
The demonstrators had been told to stay at the official protest site designated by the French authorities – the Champ de Mars by the Eiffel Tower – and to keep away from a number of sensitive sites in the city, including the Champs Élysées and Place de la Concorde near the Elysée palace.
The first arrivals were angry and frustrated, feeling abandoned by their leaders and determined to make their voices heard. Those who spoke to the Observer were of all ages, held a wide range of jobs or were unemployed, and of various political persuasions. None of those who spoke to journalists – on or off the record – appeared to be looking for a fight.
“We’re here because we’ve had enough,” said Joel Mouilleseaux, 24, a student. “It’s always the same people who have to pay for the madness of others. We have to work to pay, work some more to pay some more and it’s been like that for years. It’s been like it since I was born, president after president, and now we’re saying, that’s enough.”
He said he had voted for an independent candidate at the last election. “Left, right, for me it’s the same, always the same. I want to be heard, listened to and have a response.”
Bruno Binelli, 66, a retired carpenter from Lyon, said: “I’m not in any political party. I often vote Front National, but I’m not Front National. It’s not my mentality – and besides, I’m Italian by origin – but I do it out of protest, to say things are not good, and if you continue like this we will end up electing someone from the extreme right.
“But they don’t listen to us. Macron listens to nothing. He’s suddenly concerned about ecology, but it’s a lie: it’s a pretext to make us pay more tax. We no longer know what kind of car to buy: petrol, diesel, electric, who knows? I have a little diesel van and I don’t have the money to buy a new one, especially as I’m about to retire. We have the feeling those from the countryside are forgotten.”
Many talked of desperation at trying to make ends meet. As they passed the designer stores off the Champs Élysées, their complaints over inequality appeared to strike a chord: TV pundits spoke of an “insurrection of the people against the elites”.
France’s centrist government blamed the far right, who along with other politicians blamed Macron. Polls suggest the gilets jaunes have the support of almost 80% of French people. Even more think Macron should abandon plans to impose higher taxes on petrol and diesel. A BVA opinion poll on Friday found Macron’s popularity had slipped to a new low, with only 26% of French people having a favourable opinion of the president, a drop of three points since last month.
Macron said in a strongly worded tweet on Saturday: “Shame on those who attacked (police). Shame on those who were violent against other citizens … No place for this violence in the Republic.”
The interior minister, Christophe Castaner, said around 8,000 gilets jauneshad gathered in the city by midday on Saturday, 5,000 of them on the Champs Élysées. He claimed that responsibility for the violence lay with the far-right leader Marine Le Pen. “Marine Le Pen urged people to come to the Champs Élysées, and there are members of the ultra-right putting up barriers,” Castaner said.
He described the rioters as “seditious”. He said: “They have responded to Marine Le Pen’s call and want to take the institutions of state. We want people to be responsible.
“The right to demonstrate is a fundamental right and we will protect that, but we cannot protect those carried away by violence … those who only want to protest should pull back from this violence and denounce it.”
In response Le Pen, head of the far-right Rassemblement National, previously known as the Front National, told the news channel BFM TV that the accusations were unjust. She blamed the violence on “a few rioters”. “Why did Mr Castaner let these people on to the Champs Élysées? He is responsible. It’s a strategy of tension,” she said.
Le Pen accused the minister of trying to discredit the gilets jaunes movement.
On Saturday evening, Castaner said that 106,000 people had taken part in protests across France, and 130 had been arrested, 42 of them in Paris. The Paris police prefecture said there were 19 injured, among them four gendarmes.