• e-mail

Fighting erupted in central Paris today as thousands of anti-government protestors took to the streets of France for the fifth Saturday in a row.

Tear gas and baton charges were used by riot police around the capital's famous Opera district on a so-called 'Act V' Day of Rage, and by midday more than 60 protestors were in custody.

Most were so-called Yellow Vest fuel price demonstrators, who are named after the high visibility jackets they wear.

French Gendarmes clash with protesters and apprehend a man during violent protests in the French capital this morning

Protesters wearing yellow vests kneel on the cobbled streets of Paris. Around 8,000 police officers have been deployed ahead of a fifth consecutive week of demonstrations

French police apprehend yellow vest protesters who block the road as part of the so-called 'Act V' Day of Rage this morning in Petit-Fontaine

An elderly high-vis demonstrator is escorted away after blocking off the road as part of a protest in Petit-Fontaine this morning

A protester wearing a yellow vest and holding flowers talks with French riot police during a demonstration in Paris

A protester wearing a yellow vest offers flowers to French riot police during a demonstration by the 'yellow vests' movement in Paris this morning

A protester dressed as Santa Claus, holding a sack of presents, stands on the steps of the Opera Garnier in Paris and chants for President Emmanuel Macron to resign

Smoke grenades are hurled in the streets of Paris as riot police and protesters clash for the fifth consecutive week 

They have been protesting since November 17 and, despite a range of concessions by President Emmanuel Macron including scrapping green taxes of diesel and petrol, continue to call for him to step down.

'Macron Resign', a crowd of around 1,500 chanted today in the streets around the 19th Century Opera Garnier, which is normally a huge draw for tourists.

Around 8,000 police officers have been deployed ahead of a fifth consecutive week of demonstrations. 

Yellow vest protesters take to the streets of Paris this morning for a fifth consecutive week of protests against the government

A masked protester carrying a Star Wars Lightsaber raises his arms as he walks with hundreds of protesters in Paris this morning

Demonstrators hold a sign reading 'Enough of taxes, take on your own privileges' next to a man dressed as Santa Claus in Marseille 

Female campaigners wave the French flag as they march down the Champs-Elysees avenue this morning

Protesters wrap themselves in French flags and lay on the ground in front of the Paris Opera in the French capital this morning

Prominent activist Jean-Baptiste Redde, aka Voltuan, 61, wearing a yellow vest (gilet jaune) holds a cardboard reading 'Macron go away'

'The police are trying to funnel us into secure areas, but we're ignoring them,' said Philippe Berger, a 34-year-old Yellow Vest from Brittany.

'We've come a long way, and want to demonstrate in our own way. The establishment has let us down, and needs a complete change. Macron has to go, and we won't stop protesting until he does.'

As Mr Berger spoke, police fired gas canisters in to the air, filling streets with white smoke.

'There have been 61 arrests so far, mainly of those carrying potential offensive weapons,' a spokesman for the Paris prefecture said at 12 midday.

A French police officer aims his Lanceur de balle de defense (LBD40) weapon, which fires rubber bullets, as protests kick off in the capital this morning

A unit of mounted police officers stand guard in front of the Opera during the Yellow Vest demonstration today

A French police officer holds a rubber bullet weapon as she patrols in the centre of Paris with guards clutching riot gear and shields

Around 8,000 police officers have been deployed in Paris ahead of a fifth consecutive week of demonstrations today

Potential weapons including gas canisters, flash ball guns, baseball bats, and petanque balls have been confiscated today, said the spokesman.

High-end shops including luxury fashion boutiques were all boarded up around the Opera, along with banks and post offices.

Mounted police, water cannons, and 14 armoured vehicles capable of spreading high-intensity gas meanwhile stood waiting for further trouble.

They have failed to prevent widespread disorder over the past few weekends, as roads including the Champs Elysee exploded into intense violence.

There were almost 750 arrests in Paris alone last Saturday, with rioters and looters also taking to the streets of major cities such as Bordeaux and Marseille.

The Vests have been joined by extremists from the far Right and the ultra-Left, as well as anarchists intent on causing as much damage as possible.

A man dressed as a King punches the sky as he stands in front of the Paris Opera where hundreds of protesters in high-vis vests congregate 

For a greater Claus: Santa in a high-vis jacket joins in on demonstrations outside the Opera in Paris this morning

A demonstrator wearing a yellow vest vandalises 'Macron resign' on a wall during Saturday morning protests

Crisis-ridden Mr Macron has not only climbed down on imposing green surcharges, but increased the national minimum wage by seven per sent, and scapping tax on bonuses.

But the Yellow Vests said their protests would continue indefinitely as they campaign for even more concessions.

There have been calls for a State of Emergency to be announced, and for the Army to take to the streets.

The current spate of Paris violence is considered the worst since the Spring of 1968, when President Charles de Gaulle's government feared a full-blown revolution.

The independent Mr Macron, leader of the Republic On The Move party, won the French presidential election in a landslide in 2017, but he is now dubbed the 'President of the Rich' with polls showing his popularity rating down to just 18 per cent.    

Protestors wearing yellow vests demonstrate on the the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge) in the centre of Rotterdam, Netherlands

The so-called gilets jaunes, who started in France, are protesting over rising fuel prices and taxes and have spread throughout Europe (pictured in Rotterdam)

Here, they march along the the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge) in the centre of Rotterdam during somewhat peaceful protests

The yellow vest movement, which began as a protest against fuel taxes and then grew into an anti-Macron alliance, appears to have calmed since the president announced a series of measures to help the working poor.

There was a strong police presence outside the central Saint Lazare station today, where police in riot gear checked bags for helmets and other potential signs of trouble.

'Respect my existence or expect my resistance,' read one banner held aloft by some of the thousands of protesters who began converging on the Champs-Elysees on Saturday morning.

'We're here to represent all our friends and members of our family who can't come to protest, or because they're scared,' said Pierre Lamy, a 27-year-old industrial worker wearing a yellow vest and with a French flag draped over his shoulders as he walked to the protest with three friends.

He said the protests had long stopped being about the fuel tax and had turned into a movement for economic justice.

'Everything's coming up now,' Lamy said. 'We're being bled dry.'