Riot police fired small amounts of tear gas to disperse groups of protesters who headed down the side streets off the French capital\u2019s famed Champs\u2026<\/b>
\nRiot police fired small amounts of tear gas to disperse groups of protesters who headed down the side streets off the French capital\u2019s famed Champs-Elysees boulevard, some with traffic still flowing.
About 8,000 police and 14 armoured vehicles were deployed in Paris for the demonstration, after similar protests in recent weekends turned violent, with protesters smashing and looting stores and setting up burning barricades in the streets.
Saturday\u2019s protest was far calmer in the morning, with riot police blocking off groups of protesters who attempted to disperse in side streets. At least 21 people were detained in Paris before the protests began, police said.
Some protesters voiced anger at being restricted to a few blocks by police.
\u201cWe\u2019re surrounded by CRS,\u201d said protester Lionel Toussaint, 53, who works in the heritage industry, referring to riot police. \u201cI\u2019m not armed. I only have Kleenex.\u201d
The \u201cyellow vest\u201d movement, which takes its name from the fluorescent safety vests French motorists must all have in their vehicles, emerged in mid-November as a protest against fuel tax increases. It soon morphed into an expression of rage about the high cost of living in France and a sense that President Emanuel Macron\u2019s government is detached from the everyday struggles of workers.
Without any clear form or leadership, the movement has attracted a wide range of disgruntled people across the political spectrum, including some violent militants.
\u201cRespect my existence or expect my resistance,\u201d read one banner held aloft by protesters who converged on the Champs-Elysees.
Pierre Lamy, a 27-year-old industrial worker wearing a yellow vest and with a French flag draped over his shoulders, said the protests had long stopped being about the fuel tax and had turned into a movement for economic justice.
\u201cWe\u2019re here to represent all our friends and members of our family who can\u2019t come to protest, or because they\u2019re scared,\u201d he said as he walked to the demonstration with three friends. \u201cEverything\u2019s coming up now. We\u2019re being bled dry.\u201d
Max Werle, a 56-year-old father of nine, said the protests were his first-ever demonstrations.
\u201cI\u2019m here for my children,\u201d he said, adding that his daughter had given birth in a fire truck on Monday because the local hospital in Loiret outside Paris had closed years ago.
The office administrator said the protesters were there \u201cto defend our cause.\u2026 It\u2019s not a left and right thing.\u201d
\u201cYellow vest\u201d protests were also being held in other parts of France, with no violent incidents reported by mid-day.
On Friday, Macron called for calm during the demonstrations, and the French government reiterated the call online for demonstrators to remain peaceful.
\u201cProtesting is a right. So let\u2019s know how to exercise it,\u201d the government tweeted from its official account, with a 34-second video which begins with images of historic French protests and recent footage of \u201cyellow vest\u201d protesters rallying peacefully before turning to violence.
\u201cProtesting is not smashing. Protesting is not smashing our heritage. Protesting is not smashing our businesses.\u2026 Protesting is not smashing our republic,\u201d the video says.
Macron acknowledged in a speech earlier this week that he is partially responsible for the anger displayed during the protests, and has announced measures aimed at improving workers\u2019 spending power. He has so far refused to reinstate a wealth tax that was lifted to spur investment in France.
But on the streets of Paris, some protesters were saying the president still didn\u2019t understand them.
\u201cI think that Macron isn\u2019t in touch with what the yellow vests want. I think the yellow vests need to continue speaking out and the problem is that in the countryside,\u201d said Julie Verrier, a protester from Picardie in Normandy in northern France who had been participating in protests there for the past three weeks and had travelled to Paris for Saturday\u2019s demonstration.
\u201cLocal city halls are closed so we can\u2019t go there to express and write our complaints and our wishes,\u201d she said. \u201cSo coming here is the only way we have to say that French people need to be heard.\u201d
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Chris Den Hond contributed to this report.<\/p>\n