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