PARIS (Reuters) - Police firing tear gas and water cannons clashed in Paris on Saturday with thousands of protesters angry over rising car fuel costs and President Emmanuel Macron’s economic policies, the second weekend of “yellow vest” protests across France.

As night fell, the famed Champs-Elysees avenue, where fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld switched on the red lights of Christmas just a few days ago, was still aglow with fires lit by protesters.

President Emmanuel Macron thanked police forces for their” courage and professionalism” in dealing with demonstrators as calm progressively returned to the Champs Elysees.

“Shame on those who attacked them ... There is no room for this violence in the Republic,” Macron said on Twitter.

During the clashes a trailer was set on fire and exploded on the Champs Elysees, France’s most famous tourist mile, and a man who tried to attack fire fighters was overpowered by some of the demonstrators themselves.

On the nearby Avenue de Friedland, police fired special rubber balls to control demonstrators, who carried French flags or slogans, saying “Macron, resignation” and “Macron, thief”.

Around 8,000 protesters had converged on the Champs Elysees where police tried to prevent them from reaching the president’s Elysee Palace.

Police officers fire a tear gas during protests against higher fuel prices, on the Champs-Elysee in Paris, France, November 24, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Police detained 130 people in Paris and in protests in other parts of the country.

Protesters are opposed to taxes Macron introduced last year on diesel and petrol which are designed to encourage people to switch to cleaner forms of transport. Alongside the tax, the government has offered incentives to buy electric vehicles.

For more than a week, protesters clad in the fluorescent yellow jackets that all motorists in France must have in their cars have blocked highways across the country with burning barricades and convoys of slow-moving trucks, obstructing access to fuel depots, shopping centers and some factories.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner accused far-right leader Marine Le Pen of fanning the protests in the capital.

“Ultra-right networks were very mobilized on the Champs Elysees,” he said. There were about 20 people injured on the Champs Elysees, according to police.

CHALLENGE FOR MACRON

Last Saturday nearly 300,000 people took part in the first yellow vest demonstrations countrywide. By early evening on Saturday, more than 106,000 demonstrators were involved in protests across France, according to the ministry.

Slideshow (19 Images)

The unrest is a dilemma for Macron who casts himself as a champion against climate change but has been derided as out of touch with common folk and is fighting a slump in popularity.

While the movement, which has no leader, began as a backlash against higher fuel prices, it has tapped into broader frustration at the sense of a squeeze on household spending power under Macron’s 18-month-old government.

Since coming to power, Macron has seen off trade union and street demonstrations against his changes to the labor rules, and overhauled the heavily indebted state rail operator. Foreign investors have largely cheered his pro-business administration.</s>Police officers advance during a ‘Yellow vest’ protest against higher fuel prices, on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, on Saturday (Reuters photo)

PARIS — Police firing tear gas and water cannons clashed with protesters in Paris who are angry over rising fuel costs and President Emmanuel Macron's economic policies, the second weekend of "Yellow vest" protests across France.

A trailer was set on fire and exploded on the Champs-Élysées and a man who tried to attack fire fighters was overpowered by some of the demonstrators themselves. On the nearby Avenue de Friedland, police fired special rubber balls to control demonstrators.

Around 5,000 protesters had converged on the Champs-Élysées where police tried to prevent them from reaching the president's Elysée Palace nearby.

Protesters sang the national anthem and waved French flags while others carried signs with slogans saying "Macron, resignation" and "Macron, thief". Police detained 22 people in Paris and at protests in other parts of the country.

Protesters are opposed to taxes Macron introduced last year on diesel and petrol which are designed to encourage people to switch to cleaner forms of transport. Alongside the tax, the government has offered incentives to buy electric vehicles.

For more than a week, protesters clad in the fluorescent yellow jackets that all motorists in France must have in their cars have blocked highways across the country with burning barricades and convoys of slow-moving trucks, obstructing access to fuel depots, shopping centres and some factories.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner accused far-right leader Marine Le Pen of fanning the protests in the capital.

"The ultra-right is mobilised and is building barricades on the Champs-Élysées. They are progressively being neutralised and pushed back by police," he said.

In a message on Twitter, Le Pen said she had questioned why no protests were being allowed in the area.

"Today Mr Castaner is using this to target me. This is low and dishonest," she said.

Last Saturday, when nearly 300,000 people took part in the first yellow vest demonstrations countrywide, retailers' daily revenue fell 35 per cent, according to consumer groups.

By 2PM, more than 80,000 demonstrators were protesting across France, including 8,000 in Paris alone, according to figures from the interior ministry

Demonstrators were blocking access to shopping malls in Bollene and Carpentras in southern France while in Dole, in eastern France, a man carrying a weapon was overpowered on a roundabout occupied by demonstrators.

The unrest is a dilemma for Macron who casts himself as a champion against climate change but has been derided as out of touch with common folk and is fighting a slump in popularity.

Despite calls for calm from the government, the yellow vest protests have spread to French territories abroad, including the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, where cars were set on fire.

While the movement, which has no leader, began as a backlash against higher fuel prices, it has tapped into broader frustration at the sense of a squeeze on household spending power under Macron's 18-month-old government.

Since coming to power, Macron has seen off trade union and street demonstrations against his changes to the labour rules, and overhauled the heavily indebted state rail operator. Foreign investors have largely cheered his pro-business administration.

But political foes have dismissed him as the "president of the rich" for ending a wealth tax, and voters appear to be growing restless, with the 40-year-old president's popularity slumped at barely 20 per cent.</s>PARIS (AP) — The Latest on protests in France (all times local):

Violent clashes between police and protesters are ongoing in the French capital, with demonstrators angry about rising fuel taxes and President Emmanuel Macron's government.

Protesters burned large plywood sheets and other material in the middle of several streets in central Paris, sending up large columns of smoke. Demonstrators also hurled rocks and other projectiles at police, who responded by firing tear gas and bursts from water cannons.

Police tried to push back the protesters, at times beating back demonstrators with baton strikes and dragging them away.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has accused the far right of encouraging acts of violence and clashes with police in Paris.

Marine Le Pen, the head of the National Assembly party, called on protesters to head to the Champs-Elysees earlier this week despite authorities banning all demonstrations on the avenue.

Castaner's comments came as French police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse angry demonstrators in Paris, as protests and road blockades, led by drivers opposing rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron's presidency, swept the nation.

Castaner said that 5,000 protesters flooded the Champs-Elysees alone, with 23,000 protesters in total nationwide.

But Castaner told journalists in Paris that the protest was "weakening,"

French police have fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators in Paris, as thousands gathered in the capital and staged road blockades across the nation to vent anger against rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron's presidency.

Thousands of police have been deployed nationwide to contain the demonstrations, including a tense protest at the foot of the Champs-Elysees where protesters upturned a large vehicle. Six people have been arrested.

France is deploying thousands of police to try to contain nationwide protests and road blockades by drivers angry over rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron's presidency.

Tensions have been mounting around the grassroots movement that drew more than a quarter million people a week ago to protests across France, from Provence to Normandy and in between.

A new wave of protests is planned Saturday, including beneath the Eiffel Tower. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner called for calm and promised tough police measures against unruly crowds.

Paris alone is deploying some 3,000 security forces, notably around tourist-frequented areas like the Champs-Elysees, after an unauthorized attempt last week to march on the presidential palace.

Two people have been killed and hundreds injured in the week of protests.</s>Police fired tear gas and water cannons at demonstrators in Paris as thousands took to the streets across France to protest over rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.

Tensions have been mounting around the grassroots movement which drew more than a quarter of a million people a week ago to demonstrations from Provence to Normandy and in between. Demonstrators, dubbed ‘yellow jackets’ face riot police during clashes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, as they protest against fuel tax hikes (Kamil Zihnioglu/AP)

A new wave of protests was launched on Saturday, including beneath the Eiffel Tower.

On the nearby Champs-Elysees, police used water cannons and tear gas to try disperse protesters. Protesters flee as police fire tear gas during clashes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris( Kamil Zihnioglu/AP)

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner had earlier called for calm and threatened tough police measures against unruly crowds.

Paris alone deployed some 3,000 security forces, notably around tourist-frequented areas like the Champs-Elysees, after an unauthorised attempt last week to march on the presidential palace.

Two people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the week of protests, which are posing a big challenge to Mr Macron.



Authorities are struggling because the movement has no clear leader and has attracted a motley group of people with broadly varying demands.

The protesters call themselves the “yellow jackets” after the hi-vis security vests that drivers are required to keep in their vehicles.

A man caused a dramatic stand-off with police on Friday when he donned a neon vest and brandished an apparent grenade at a supermarket in the western city of Angers. He was later arrested. Fuel tax protesters also took to the streets in Lyon (Laurent Cipriani/AP)

Most of the protesters’ anger is targeted at Mr Macron, a pro-business centrist accused of indifference to the struggles of ordinary people.

The president has defended the fuel taxes as necessary to reduce France’s dependence on fossil fuels, but promised to lay out new plans on Tuesday to make the “energy transition” easier.</s>'Shame on those who assaulted or intimidated citizens, journalists and politicians.... There is no place for violence in the [French] Republic,' says French President Emmanuel Macron

PARIS, France – Anti-government protesters clashed with French police on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Saturday, November 24 leaving the area cloaked in tear gas and smoke from fires on a fresh day of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron.

Demonstrators wearing the yellow, high-visibility vests that symbolize their movement threw projectiles at police preventing them from moving along the famed shopping avenue, which was decked out in twinkling Christmas lights.

They also built barricades in some spots, and tore down traffic lights and street signs, creating riotous scenes reminiscent of France's 1968 civil unrest, or street insurrections in the mid-19th century immortalized in paintings and movies.

Police arrested 130 people, 69 of those in Paris, and 24 people were injured, 5 of them police officers including one who suffered burns to his groin, the city police department and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.

Elsewhere, protesters took over highway toll booths to let traffic pass for free, or held go-slow vehicle processions, underlining one of their core complaints of escalating taxes on car fuel, especially diesel.

Macron, targeted by protesters' calls that he resign, took to Twitter to thank police.

"Shame" on those who assaulted or intimidated citizens, journalists and politicians, Macron said. "There is no place for violence in the [French] Republic."

Calm returned to the streets of the capital after midnight on Saturday, with the Champs-Elysees reopening to traffic.

The clean-up operation also got under way as garbage trucks were deployed and workers removed barricades along the famous avenue.

The violence was on a smaller scale than a week ago when the "yellow vest" movement staged its first nationwide protest.

"We're not here to beat up cops. We came because we want the government to hear us," said one protest spokeswoman, Laetitia Dewalle, 37, adding that the largely spontaneous movement denounced "violence by pseudo-protesters" on the fringes. (READ: Paris police fire tear gas, water cannon against 'yellow vest' protesters)

"We have just demonstrated peacefully, and we were teargassed," said Christophe, 49, who travelled from the Isere region in eastern France with his wife to protest in the capital.

The interior ministry counted 106,000 protesters across France on Saturday, with 8,000 in Paris, of whom around 5,000 were on the Champs-Elysees.

That was far less than the national tally of 282,000 in the November 17 protests.

Castaner said after the tumult died down that damage on the Champs-Elysees was "small".

The French government cast blame for the unruly protests on far-right politician Marine Le Pen, claiming she egged them on.

But Le Pen rejected that accusation saying she had "never called for any violence whatsoever" and in turn accused the government of "organizing the tension" and seeking to make her a scapegoat.

Meanwhile, opposition parties on both the right and left accused the government of trying to reduce the protests to just the sporadic scenes of violence, and turning a deaf ear to the demonstrators' grievances.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the radical left France Unbowed party who attended a separate march Saturday protesting violence against women, tweeted that the action on the streets was "a mass protest of the people" which signalled "the end for Castaner".

A week ago, two people died and over 750 people, including 136 police officers, were injured in sometimes violent demonstrations that have shone a light on frustrations in many rural areas and small towns of France.

The "yellow vests" hail overwhelmingly from non-urban areas of France. They feel overlooked and penalized by policies they see as being pushed through by elitist politicians in Paris.

Former investment banker Macron was elected on a pledge to put more money in workers' pockets. But the effects of his pro-business reforms on unemployment and purchasing power have been limited so far.

Many of the often low-income "yellow vest" protesters are particularly incensed at his decision to hike anti-pollution taxes on diesel, while scrapping a wealth tax on the rich.

"I'm not just fighting against the price of fuel. It's about tax, what we pay," protester Catherine Marguier told Agence France-Presse near the village of La Gravelle in northwest France.

Meanwhile, in a separate protest in the southern city of Marseille, police fired teargas at bottle-throwing demonstrators upset by the "gentrification" renovation work on the town's biggest square. Around 1,200 demonstrators took part and two were arrested.

Revolts against taxes have been a feature of French public life for centuries. Citizens still pay some of the highest in Europe as a percentage of GDP, and fuel-price protests are a common modern occurrence.

Previous rounds pitting the government against drivers took place in 1995, 2000, 2004, and 2008, often when tax increases coincided with high oil prices – as they have this year.

A poll by the Odoxa research group for Le Figaro newspaper this week found that 77% of respondents described it as "justified". – Rappler.com</s>PARIS (AP) — French police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators in Paris on Saturday, as thousands gathered in the capital and staged road blockades across the nation to vent anger against rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron's presidency.

Thousands of police were deployed nationwide to contain the demonstrations, including a tense protest at the foot of the Champs-Elysees where protesters burned barriers and large plywood sheets, wielded placards reading "Death to Taxes" and upturned a large vehicle.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in the clashes, but 18 were detained for various acts including for "throwing projectiles," Paris police told The Associated Press.

"It's going to trigger a civil war and me, like most other citizens, we're all ready," said Benjamin Vrignaud, a 21-year-old protester from Chartres.

The famed avenue was speckled with plumes of smoke and neon — owing to the color of the vests the myriad self-styled "yellow jacket" protesters don. French drivers are required to keep neon security vests in their vehicles.

Authorities said that 5,000 protesters flooded the Champs-Elysees alone, with 23,000 protesters in total nationwide.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner denounced protesters from the far-right whom he called "rebellious," as he accused the Marine Le Pen, party leader of the National Assembly, of encouraging them.

In a week of demonstrations that has dominated national news coverage, hundreds have been injured and two people were killed in accidents stemming from the protests.

The Interior Ministry played down the scale of Saturday's demonstrations by highlighting that last week's protest comprised more than 100,000 protesters across the country.

The unrest is proving a major challenge for embattled Macron, who's suffering in the polls and the focus of rage for the demonstrators, who accuse the pro-business centrist of indifference to the struggles of ordinary French.

Macron has insisted the fuel tax rises are a necessary pain to reduce France's dependence on fossil fuels and fund renewable energy investments — a cornerstone of his reforms of the nation. He will defend fresh plans to make the "energy transition" easier on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Paris deployed some 3,000 security forces, notably around tourist-frequented areas, after an unauthorized attempt last week to march on the presidential Elysee Palace.

Authorities said protesters have so far not breached a no-go zone set up by authorities around key areas including the presidential palace and the National Assembly on the Left Bank of the Seine River.

But authorities are struggling because the movement has no clear leader and has attracted a motley group of people with broadly varying demands.

A man caused a dramatic standoff with police Friday when he donned a neon vest and brandished an apparent grenade at a supermarket in the western city of Angers. He was later arrested.

Taxes on diesel fuel have gone up seven euro cents (nearly eight U.S. cents) and are to keep climbing in the coming years, Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne has said. The tax on gasoline is to increase 4 euro cents. Gasoline currently costs about 1.64 euros a liter in Paris ($7.06 a gallon), slightly more than diesel.

"When tax is no longer agreed to, it's the start of revolutions in France," far left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon told BFMTV.

Alex Turnbull, Chris Den Hond and Patrick Hermensen contributed to this report.</s>The famed Champs-Elysees, decked out in twinkling Christmas lights, was left shrouded in smoke from tear gas and fires (AFP Photo/Bertrand GUAY)

Paris (AFP) - Anti-government protesters clashed with French police on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Saturday, leaving the area cloaked in tear gas and smoke from fires on a fresh day of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron.

Demonstrators wearing the yellow, high-visibility vests that symbolise their movement threw projectiles at police preventing them from moving along the famed shopping avenue, which was decked out in twinkling Christmas lights.

They also built barricades in some spots, and tore down traffic lights and street signs, creating riotous scenes reminiscent of France's 1968 civil unrest, or street insurrections in the mid-19th century immortalised in paintings and movies.

Police arrested 130 people, 42 of those in Paris, and 24 people were injured, five of them police officers including one who suffered burns to his groin, the city police department and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.

Elsewhere, protesters took over highway toll booths to let traffic pass for free, or held go-slow vehicle processions, underlining one of their core complaints of escalating taxes on car fuel, especially diesel.

Macron, targeted by protesters' calls that he resign, took to Twitter to thank police.

"Shame" on those who assaulted or intimidated citizens, journalists and politicians, Macron said. "There is no place for violence in the (French) Republic."

The violence was on a smaller scale than a week ago when the "yellow vest" movement staged its first nationwide protest.

"We're not here to beat up cops. We came because we want the government to hear us," said one protest spokeswoman, Laetitia Dewalle, 37, adding that the largely spontaneous movement denounced "violence by pseudo-protesters" on the fringes.

"We have just demonstrated peacefully, and we were teargassed," said Christophe, 49, who travelled from the Isere region in eastern France with his wife to protest in the capital.

The interior ministry counted 106,000 protesters across France on Saturday, with 8,000 in Paris, of whom around 5,000 were on the Champs-Elysees.

That was far less than the national tally of 282,000 in the November 17 protests.

Castaner said after the tumult died down that damage on the Champs-Elysees was "small".

The French government cast blame for the unruly protests on far-right politician Marine Le Pen, claiming she egged them on.

But Le Pen rejected that accusation saying she had "never called for any violence whatsoever" and in turn accused the government of "organising the tension" and seeking to make her a scapegoat.

Meanwhile opposition parties on both the right and left accused the government of trying to reduce the protests to just the sporadic scenes of violence, and turning a deaf ear to the demonstrators' grievances.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the radical left France Unbowed who attended a separate march Saturday protesting violence against women, tweeted that the action on the streets was "a mass protest of the people" which signalled "the end for Castaner".

A week ago, two people died and over 750 people, including 136 police officers, were injured in sometimes violent demonstrations that have shone a light on frustrations in many rural areas and small towns of France.

The "yellow vests" hail overwhelmingly from non-urban areas of France. They feel overlooked and penalised by policies they see as being pushed through by elitist politicians in Paris.

Former investment banker Macron was elected on a pledge to put more money in workers' pockets. But the effects of his pro-business reforms on unemployment and purchasing power have been limited so far.

Many of the often low-income "yellow vest" protesters are particularly incensed at his decision to hike anti-pollution taxes on diesel, while scrapping a wealth tax on the rich.

"I'm not just fighting against the price of fuel. It's about tax, what we pay," protester Catherine Marguier told AFP near the village of La Gravelle in northwest France.

Meanwhile, in a separate protest in the southern city of Marseille, police fired teargas at bottle-throwing demonstrators upset by the "gentrification" renovation work on the town's biggest square. Around 1,200 demonstrators took part and two were arrested.</s>French police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent demonstrators in Paris on Saturday, as thousands gathered in the capital and beyond and staged road blockades to vent anger against rising fuel taxes.

Thousands of police were deployed nationwide to contain the eighth day of deadly demonstrations that started as protests against tax but morphed into a rebuke of President Emmanuel Macron and the perceived elitism of France's ruling class. Two people have been killed since Nov. 17 in protest-related tragedies.

Tense clashes on the Champs-Elysees that ended by dusk Saturday saw police face off with demonstrators who burned plywood, wielded placards reading "Death to Taxes" and upturned a large vehicle.

At least 19 people, including four police officers, were slightly hurt and one person had more serious injuries in the day of unrest in Paris, according to police.

Macron responded in a strongly worded tweet: "Shame on those who attacked (police). Shame on those who were violent against other citizens ... No place for this violence in the Republic."

Police said that dozens of protesters were detained for "throwing projectiles," among other acts. By nightfall the Champs-Elysees was smoldering and in the Place de la Madeleine, burned scooters lay on the sidewalk like blackened shells.

"It's going to trigger a civil war and me, like most other citizens, we're all ready," said Benjamin Vrignaud, a 21-year-old protester from Chartres.

"They take everything from us. They steal everything from us," said 21-year-old Laura Cordonnier.

The famed avenue was speckled with plumes of smoke and neon — owing to the color of the vests the self-styled "yellow jacket" protesters don. French drivers are required to keep neon security vests in their vehicles.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said that 8,000 protesters flooded the Champs-Elysees at the demonstration's peak and there were nearly 106,000 protesters and 130 arrests in total nationwide.

Castaner denounced protesters from the far-right whom he called "rebellious," as he accused National Assembly leader Marine Le Pen of encouraging them.

But the Interior Ministry played down the scale of Saturday's demonstrations by highlighting that up to 280,000 people took part in last Saturday's protest.

The unrest is proving a major challenge for embattled Macron, who's suffering in the polls.

The leader, who swept to power only last year, is the focus of rage for the "yellow jacket" demonstrators who accuse the pro-business centrist of elitism and indifference to the struggles of ordinary French.

Macron has so far held strong and insisted the fuel tax rises are a necessary pain to reduce France's dependence on fossil fuels and fund renewable energy investments — a cornerstone of his reforms of the nation. He will defend fresh plans to make the "energy transition" easier next week.

Paris deployed some 3,000 security forces on Saturday, notably around tourist-frequented areas, after an unauthorized attempt last week to march on the presidential Elysee Palace.

Police officials said that a no-go zone, set up around key areas including the presidential palace and the National Assembly on the Left Bank of the Seine River, has not been breached.

But authorities are struggling because the movement has no clear leader and has attracted a motley group of people with broadly varying demands.

The anger is mainly over a hike in the diesel fuel tax, which has gone up seven euro cents per liter (nearly 30 U.S. cents per gallon) and will keep climbing in coming years, according to Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne. The tax on gasoline is also to increase four euro cents. Gasoline currently costs about 1.64 euros a liter in Paris ($7.06 a gallon), slightly more than diesel.

Far left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon explained to BFMTV the historical importance of this issue in the Gallic mindset: "When tax is no longer agreed to, it's the start of revolutions in France."

Chris Den Hond and Patrick Hermensen contributed to this report.</s>Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators in Paris as thousands gathered in the capital and staged road blockades across France to vent anger against rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. Thousands of police were deployed nationwide to contain the demonstrations, including a tense protest at the foot of the Champs-Elysees where protesters wielded placards reading “Death to Taxes” and upturned a large vehicle.

No-one was injured in the clashes, but six were arrested for “throwing projectiles”,Paris Police told the Associated Press. “It’s going to trigger a civil war and me, like most other citizens, we’re all ready,” said Benjamin Vrignaud, a 21-year-old protester from Chartres.

The famous avenue was dotted from early morning with neon – owing to the hi-vis vests the myriad self-styled “yellow jacket” protesters wear. French drivers are required to keep neon security vests in their vehicles.

Five thousand protesters flooded the Champs-Elysees alone, with 23,000 protesters in total nationwide, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. In a week of demonstrations that has dominated national news coverage, hundreds have been injured and two people died in accidents stemming from the protests. The unrest is proving a major challenge for embattled Mr Macron, who is suffering in the polls and the focus of rage for the demonstrators, who accuse the pro-business centrist of indifference to the struggles of ordinary French people.

Mr Macron has insisted that the fuel tax rises are a necessary pain to reduce France’s dependence on fossil fuels and fund renewable energy investments, which is a cornerstone of his reforms of the nation. He will defend fresh plans to make the “energy transition” easier on Tuesday. On Saturday, Paris deployed some 3,000 security forces, notably around tourist-frequented areas, after an unauthorized attempt last week to march on the presidential Elysee Palace.

Authorities said protesters have so far not breached a no-go zone set up by authorities around key areas including the presidential palace and the National Assembly on the Left Bank of the Seine River. But authorities are struggling because the movement has no clear leader and has attracted a motley group of people with broadly varying demands. A man caused a dramatic stand-off with police on Friday when he donned a neon vest and brandished an apparent grenade at a supermarket in the western city of Angers. He was later arrested.</s>Police fired teared gas and used water cannons Saturday to disperse protestors in Paris who are demonstrating for a second weekend against rising fuel prices.

The so-called “Yellow Jacket” activists, named after the neon vest worn by motorists during roadside emergencies, are calling on French President Emmanuel Macron to step back from planned hike of taxes on gasoline.

While the mass movement focuses on the gas tax, it highlights a broader array of frustrations with Macron. The French president was already struggling with approval scores in the mid-twenties and an underperforming economy before protests began.

His popularity has slipped to a new low, according to an opinion poll published Friday, which found only 26 percent of French people had a favorable opinion of Macron.

The French president is attempting to re-focus frustration with the tax onto rising global oil prices.

Police and government officials are increasingly concerned that far-right and far-left extremists are infiltrating the grassroots protesters, inciting violence.

By early Saturday afternoon, there were about 23,000 protesters across the country, out of which 8,000 in Paris, Le Monde reported.

Around 30,000 people are expected to protest in the French capital alone, Reuters reported.

Some protesters sang the national anthem while others carried signs with slogans saying “Macron, resignation” and “Macron, thief.”

Video footage showed thousands of protesters marching on the Champs-Élysées avenue, with firetrucks rushing to a vehicle demonstrators set on fire.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner spoke about a “mobilization of the extreme right” and said that security forces had anticipated the development.

About 280,000 took to the streets last weekend.

Police detained a man wearing an explosive device Friday night in Western France after he demanded that Yellow Jacket activists be given an audience with Macron.

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Violent clashes between French police and protesters last well into the night on the Champs-Élysées in Paris over rising fuel taxes.