'Yellow Vests' get teargassed after defying government demands to avoid rallying

“Yellow Vest” protesters have been teargassed in the French capital of Paris after taking to the streets for a fifth week of demonstrations, defying government pleas to avoid rallies.

This week’s round of Saturday protests were met with tear gas despite being largely peaceful.

Some 8,000 security forces and 14 armored vehicles were deployed in the capital alone to crack down on the demonstrators.

Local sources said that protesters have adapted to the police’s heavy-handed tactics, dispersing into smaller groups across the streets to avoid being controlled and cornered by security forces.

Pierre Lamy, a 27-year-old industrial worker attending the march, stressed that the protests were not about fuel tax anymore and had turned into a movement for economic justice.

"We're here to represent all our friends and members of our family who can't come to protest, or because they're scared." 

Images from the Saturday rallies showed protesters calling for the resignation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

An estimated 66,000 people have participated in the rallies and nearly 200 have been arrested, according to figures released by the interior ministry in the evening.

Some French media outlets stressed that participation had halved compared to last week’s protests.

Coordinated on social media, the protests have grown into a broad movement against Macron’s perceived elitist policies and governing style. He is labeled as the “president of the rich.”

In a bid to end the protests, Macron made a televised speech on Monday, announcing the cancellation of a planned fuel-tax increase and offering a rise in the minimum wage, tax relief for pensioners and tax-free overtime for workers.

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The concessions, however, were rejected by opposition groups and protesters who described Macron remarks “nonsense,” “a charade,” “a bluff” and “a drop in the ocean.”

Centered on issues such as countering democratic under-representation and flawed neoliberal economic policies, the "Yellow Vests" have presented numerous lists of grievances and demands.

One popular demand, dubbed the “Citizen Initiative Referendum”, calls for a form of direct democracy, giving French citizens the right to determine important policies by popular democratic participation.

Police brutality

In the past weeks, numerous images documenting excessive use of force by the police have emerged on social media.

Use of tear gas on peaceful gatherings, direct rubber bullet and tear gas shots targeting people's faces, violent beatings and dangerous use of crowd control grenades are among some of the reported incidents.

Last week, a protester lost a hand after trying to pick up a tear gas round.

French police have been reported to use the controversial GLI-4 tear gas grenade. France is the only European country to do so.

The grenades are known to be able to kill or cause severe injury due to 25 grams of TNT in its explosive charge.

Viral images of brutal beatings have also infuriated some of the public.

Many incidents have also shown protesters being intentionally targeted in their faces by tear gas and rubber bullet rounds, leading to serious bleeding and injury.

According to government sources, six people have died since the demonstrations began and another 1,407 have been injured.

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