RTFri, 07 Dec 2018 11:10 UTC
© ReutersProtest against higher diesel taxes, demonstrate near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
As France braces for a new wave of protests, a government spokesman warned that radicals are using the Yellow Vest movement to pursue their own goals and one of them is to topple the current leadership.
Some 89,000 officers, armored vehicles belonging to military police and increased vigilance - that's how the nation is getting ready for Act IV, the fourth Saturday of Yellow Vest rallies. This time the protesters say they are to
"stay on their course," despite the authorities agreeing to abandon the fuel tax hike.
Recalling the violence of the previous rallies, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux warned about provocateurs. "Radicalized elements try to exploit the movement. They want to overthrow the authorities," he
told Le Parisien newspaper on Thursday.
Also firearms may "circulate" at the upcoming protests, Griveaux warned, saying that previous protests have already resulted in casualties. "True Yellow Vests can't serve as human shields. Those who are in these demonstrations don't allow police to proceed with the arrests," he added, appealing to "everyone's responsibility."
Griveaux's statement echoed earlier reports in the French media
claiming that Saturday's demonstrations may be hit by unprecedented violence caused
by both "radicalized...extreme right and extreme left."
Sources insisted that there may be even a coup attempt at the Elysee Palace. One of the leaders of Yellow Vests added fuel to the fire by saying that they plan to approach the official residence of Emmanuel Macron.
"Saturday is the Elysee, we would all like to go to the Elysee," he said on Thursday.
The Facebook Yellow Vest event has already
counted over 6,000 people who are due to participate and 24,000 others who are
"interested."
Comment: With the
French government fearing a coup attempt, pictures and videos have surfaced allegedly showing armored vehicles approaching Paris to be deployed during Saturday's protests. The French PM announced that
"a dozen armored vehicles" will be rolling into Paris along with 8,000 police and 89,000 around the nation.
Yellow Vest spokesman, Eric Drouet has vowed that
"Saturday will be the final outcome". The interior ministry fearing an emboldened extremist fringe promised that this weekend's upcoming riots would be handled with
"exceptional means." Officers have been instructed to
directly engage with protesters, prompting fears of violence above and beyond that of last weekend. Paris police have urged shopkeepers along the Champs-Elysees to close on Saturday, and dozens of museums and cultural sites will also be shut for the weekend, including the Eiffel Tower.
French police have already
dealt harshly with the student protestors. Pictures and videos of the arrests are stirring further outrage with many commenting that it 'looks like an execution [of children] by firing squad'. Even
French Education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer conceded that the images of students on their knees, while being arrested are "shocking", yet added that the situation must be analyzed in context: 'What happened?
There are those who don't attend these high schools, they are more than 20 years old ... and they manage to gather students [in these schools]. These very people attacked police officers, who tried to neutralize them and line them up against a wall.'
© TwitterViolences Policières
Comment: With the French government fearing a coup attempt, pictures and videos have surfaced allegedly showing armored vehicles approaching Paris to be deployed during Saturday's protests. The French PM announced that "a dozen armored vehicles" will be rolling into Paris along with 8,000 police and 89,000 around the nation.
Yellow Vest spokesman, Eric Drouet has vowed that "Saturday will be the final outcome". The interior ministry fearing an emboldened extremist fringe promised that this weekend's upcoming riots would be handled with "exceptional means." Officers have been instructed to directly engage with protesters, prompting fears of violence above and beyond that of last weekend. Paris police have urged shopkeepers along the Champs-Elysees to close on Saturday, and dozens of museums and cultural sites will also be shut for the weekend, including the Eiffel Tower.
French police have already dealt harshly with the student protestors. Pictures and videos of the arrests are stirring further outrage with many commenting that it 'looks like an execution [of children] by firing squad'. Even French Education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer conceded that the images of students on their knees, while being arrested are "shocking", yet added that the situation must be analyzed in context: 'What happened? There are those who don't attend these high schools, they are more than 20 years old ... and they manage to gather students [in these schools]. These very people attacked police officers, who tried to neutralize them and line them up against a wall.'