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Old December 1st, 2018 #31
Stewart Meadows
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Join Date: May 2018
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Quote:
‘Yellow Vest’ Protests Escalate in Violence, and France Scrambles to Respond


PARIS — A third week of anti-government protests intensified in violence on Saturday, as demonstrators burned cars, smashed windows and confronted riot police firing tear gas in the heart of Paris in the most serious crisis of President Emmanuel Macron’s administration.

The ‘‘Yellow Vest’’ protests — spurred by a hike in the gasoline tax, and named for the roadside safety vests worn by the demonstrators — have emerged as a spontaneous outcry over declining living standards.

Diffuse, seemingly leaderless and organized over the internet, they have drawn deepening and widespread support around the country, where other demonstrations were mostly peaceful on Saturday.

But in Paris the protests took a more sinister turn as they were joined by extremists on the left and right, anarchists and organized labor, all seeking to capitalize on the simmering discontent. The violence crossed a new threshold for the Macron administration, and raised alarm even in a country where organized protest is commonplace.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/01/w...ts-macron.html