‘Yellow vest’ protesters mull nationwide demonstrations

Around 200 demonstrations are planned, with authorities expecting several thousand to rally in the capital.

PARIS, France (AFP) — French “yellow vest” protesters are planning a series of nationwide demonstrations this weekend in a bid to show the government they can still muster support on the first anniversary of their movement.

Numbers attending the protests and levels of violence have sharply diminished in recent months from the height of the movement, which began on 17 November last year with a giant Paris protest that drew almost 300,000 people.

But the yellow vests want the actions on Saturday — their traditional day for protests — and also Sunday — the anniversary day — to show President Emmanuel Macron they remain a force to be reckoned with.

Around 200 demonstrations are planned, with authorities expecting several thousand to rally in the capital.

This estimate includes a few hundred radical protesters from the ultra-left and far-right, often behind the worst scenes of mayhem.

France has a long tradition of violent protest, but the ferocity of last winter’s demonstrations and allegations of police brutality shocked the country.

Officials said the magnitude of the weekend protests is far from certain but deputy interior minister Laurent Nunez noted a “more pronounced interest” than in previous weeks, and police would plan their deployment accordingly.

“There will be a significant mobilization but not on the scale we saw in December and January at a national level,” said a French security source, asking not to be identified by name.

“We are expecting a difficult Saturday,” said the source, noting that protesters “mobilize at the last minute in a bid to take us by surprise.”

A poll by the Elabe institute published Wednesday said 55 percent of French people support or have sympathy for the yellow vests, although 63 percent said they do not want the protests to begin in earnest again.