In France, the yellow vest movement, supported by different segments of society, especially high school students, farmers and climate activists, is protesting against the high cost of living at hundreds of different points.
In the countrywide protests that started with the call for the revival of the Yellow Vest movement in France and grew against the high cost of living and problems in the education system, a historical building in Lyon was set on fire, the city hall in Marseille was raided and 272 people were detained across the country.
The high school protests, which have been ongoing since September, have been reignited by calls to revive the Yellow Vest movement and demonstrations against the cost of living. In the protests supported by former participants of the Yellow Vest movement, students and unions, they demanded to increase wages, improve public services and allocate more resources to educational institutions. While most of the demonstrations were peaceful, clashes occurred between groups hiding their faces and security forces in some cities.
A 174-year-old historical building was set on fire in Lyon. The historical tourist information center located in Bellecour Square, one of the landmarks of Lyon, was destroyed and set on fire during the demonstrations. While the flames rising from the building caused panic in the surrounding area, the police intervened with tear gas against the groups who threw fireworks and various objects at the security forces.
It was reported that fire crews had difficulty intervening in the fire that broke out in the historical building, which was built by architect Tony Desjardins in 1852 and was used as a military station and police station in the past, due to the ongoing conflicts in the surrounding area.
500 different points
The French Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that protests will be held at 500 different points across the country.
On the other hand, the Paris Police Department banned protests at important points in the capital such as the Elysee Palace, the Prime Ministry building and the Champs-Elysees.
Despite the ban, shop owners on the famous Champs-Elysees Avenue blocked their shop windows with billboards and security forces were deployed along the street.
The march from Republic Square to Clichy Square in Paris started at 14.00 local time.
In addition to the capital Paris, protests continue in the cities of Lyon, Marseille, Rennes and Lille.
The facades of different shops, including banks and insurance branches, on the route between Republic and Clichy squares, where the big march was held in Paris, were damaged.
While there were disruptions in metro transportation, some roads were closed to traffic.
While protests continued throughout the day at different points in Paris, a group of demonstrators barricaded themselves with iron barriers on Champs-Elysees Avenue, despite the ban on demonstrations at this point. The police destroyed the barricades in question.
A group of dozens of demonstrators in the capital was blocked by law enforcement officers while trying to approach the Elysee Palace.
In the city of Limoges, a fire broke out in the historical town hall. Towards the end of the protest in the city, a masked group broke the windows of the building in question. The group entered and set the town hall on fire.
While there were incidents of violence during the protests in Marseille, reinforcement riot police teams were dispatched to the area after the demonstrators entered the Marseille Municipality building.
During the demonstrations in Lyon, the police intervened with the protesters with pepper gas. The branch of a famous brand in the city was looted and the tourism office was set on fire.
Police used pepper gas against people wearing black clothes and masks who tried to break the windows of a store in the city of Saint-Etienne. A gas cloud formed in the streets due to the intense pepper gas used by the police.
Police sources stated that a protester in the city of Saint-Etienne was seriously injured and his hand was severed.
Some stores were looted
Different stores, including branches of luxury brands in Paris and other cities, were looted.
Approximately 400 people have been detained across the country so far. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that 550 thousand people participated in the demonstrations across the country.
Organizers announced this number as 800 thousand.
Macron's reaction: "There is no place for violence in the Republic"
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on the social media account of US-based company X: "There is no place for violence in the Republic." he said.
Macron claimed that law enforcement officers guaranteed the right to demonstrate by announcing that a lawsuit would be filed and punished against those who caused havoc and attacked the governorship buildings and shops within the scope of the protests.
Stating that he supports law enforcement, Macron stated that they will stand against the "spreaders of chaos" who try to destroy French institutions and prevent those who want to express their demands peacefully.
