France - Cars ablaze as protests continue against tax hikes / Police block streets, more tear gas at

(15 Dec 2018) On December 1st protesters set on fire overturned cars in central Paris, after police pushed them away from the Arc de Triomphe monument following violent clashes. The protests have continued to escalate throughout December 1st, causing widespread disruption and damage to the city. Paris police said on December 1st that at least 65 people including 11 police officers have been injured in violent protests in the French capital. Police also said that 140 people have been arrested. Protesters angry about rising taxes clashed with French police for a third straight weekend and dozens were arrested after pockets of demonstrators built barricades in the middle of streets in central Paris, lit fires and threw rocks at officers on December 1st. *** Paris police on December 8th fired tear gas on a group of yellow-vested protesters trying to march on the French presidential palace and pushed them back with shields. Crowds of protesters first tried to march down the Champs-Elysees avenue toward the Elysee Palace but were prevented by rows of police. A group of a few hundred then took side streets and tried to get past a police barricade, and police fired back with tear gas. Most of the protesters remain peaceful, and there are no signs so far of the rioting and looting that marked a similar protest on December 1st and prompted fears of greater violence this week. *** Paris police deployed tear gas and a water cannon on yellow-vested protesters throwing flares and setting fires in one of the French capital's main shopping districts. Scattered clashes are continuing around the city as the protesters seek to reach the presidential palace and demand President Emmanuel Macron's resignation. While the situation is tense, police appear to have it more under control than a week ago, when rioting and looting overwhelmed Paris security forces. Several neighbourhoods of Paris have been locked down, with many stores shuttered for fear of violence. Overall police estimated there were about 8,000 yellow vest protesters in Paris on December 8th, down from the previous week. Meanwhile, the government deployed 8,000 police in the city, as part of exceptional security measures aimed at preventing a repeat of the previous week's rioting, which injured 130 people and struck a new blow to France's global image. *** Some scuffles broke out on December 15th between protesters and police on the sidelines of largely peaceful yellow vest demonstrations near the Paris' Champs-Elysees boulevard. Riot police fired small amounts of tear gas and sprayed groups of protesters to disperse them as they were heading down the side streets off the main avenue. Paris police say 85 people have been detained in the French capital on the fifth straight weekend of protests by the yellow vests movement. It emerged mid-November as a protest against fuel tax increases and morphed into an expression of rage against the government Police say of those detained, 46 people have been arrested. No details have been given about why they were taken into custody. About 8,000 police and 14 armored 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. *** French police on December 15th used water cannon and tear gas across Paris' Champs-Elysees Avenue and near the Arc de Triomphe, amid the fifth straight weekend of protests by the yellow vests movement. French police have detained 85 people in Paris in December 15th's protests. 01:06:18 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...