French President Emmanuel Macron has cut short a skiing trip in the Pyrenees to return to Paris for a crisis meeting after 'yellow vest' protesters trashed shops and torched cars in the heart of Paris.
Businesses on the famed Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris were destroyed on Saturday, on the 18th weekend of French the protests, characterised by a sharp increase in violence after weeks of dwindling turnout.
Macron is now due to hold an emergency meeting at the interior ministry, his office said.
Protesters were seen vandalising and later setting fire to Fouquet's brasserie, a favourite hangout of the rich and famous for the past century - as well as luxury handbag store Longchamp, a bank, another restaurant and several news stands.
'Like the vast majority of French people, I feel very angry today,' tweeted French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who visited the scene.
'Today's actions are not the work of protesters, but of looters, arsonists and criminals. No cause justifies this violence,' he added.
In a statement, the national police denounced the 'mindless violence, cowardly attacks' and stressed their determination to guarantee public order against 'provocateurs and vandals'.
Violence erupted as the protesters called for the French president to resign.
Teargas and baton charged were used by riot police on a so-called 'Act XVIII' Day of Rage organised by the Yellow Vest movement.
Fighting broke out on the Champs Elysee, the most famous avenue in the French capital, by 11am, when there had already been 25 arrests.
'Gangs are targeting police, and carrying out numerous acts of vandalism,' said an officer at the scene.
'Fires are being lit, including in cars. Thousands are arriving all over the city, and we are already extremely stretched.'
Protests were not just organised by the Yellow Vests – who are named after their high visibility motoring jackets – but by climate change protesters.
All were attempting to march on the Elysee Palace, Mr Macron's official home, but were held back by barriers and rows of police.
Around 12 members of the Yellow Vest movement have died at blockades organised at major roads around France, while hundreds of others have been injured in rioting.
The Vests have been protesting since November 17 last year and, despite a range of concessions by President Macron including scrapping green taxes of diesel and petrol, continue to call for him to step down.
Many have been arrested, including some 700 who were held in custody on a single day in Paris last December.
High-end shops including luxury fashion boutiques were today boarded up in Paris, along with banks and post offices.
This follows major acts of vandalism, including the Arc de Triomphe itself being attacked.
Mounted police, water cannons, and 14 armoured vehicles capable of spreading high-intensity gas were today all on standby as part of the security operation.
They have failed to prevent widespread disorder over the past few weekends, with the worst violence normally coming at nightfall.
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.
Crisis-ridden Mr Macron has not only climbed down on imposing green surcharges, but increased the national minimum wage by seven per sent, and scrapped tax on bonuses.
But the Yellow Vests said their protests would continue indefinitely as they campaign for even more concessions.
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'.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
