France mulls state of emergency

International Desk: France is considering imposing a state of emergency as hundreds of people were arrested during the country's worst riots in 50 years.

Police in Paris said 23 officers are among 133 people who have been injured since violence flared on Saturday afternoon, tearing parts of the capital apart.

Out of the 412 arrested, 378 are in police custody, while the interior minister Christophe Castaner said about 3,000 people were suspected of having taken part in the Paris violence.

Across France 75,000 people were estimated to have engaged in protests on Saturday, marking the third weekend in a row of protests.

Benjamin Griveaux, a government spokesman, has said France will consider imposing a state of emergency to prevent further unrest, and is urging peaceful protesters to get around the negotiating table.

He told Europe 1 radio: "It is out of the question that each weekend becomes a meeting or ritual for violence."

A government spokesman said it is open to dialogue but will not change course.

The National Police Alliance called for a state of emergency, with the deputy national secretary Loic Travers accusing Paris police of failing to filter out "people with bad intentions" before they came to the protests.

The Union of Restaurateurs and Caterers said the effect on the trade was "catastrophic", saying 50% of tourists in Paris had cancelled their reservations or left the country early, with more and more cancelling elsewhere in France.

Activists dressed in hi-vis jackets torched cars, smashed windows, looted stores and vandalised the Arc de Triomphe as thousands took part in a protest against rising fuel taxes and the President Emmanuel Macron's government for the third weekend in a row.

Groups of masked young men, some carrying metal bars and axes, were seen running through the streets.

Cars were set on fire and firefighters were seen putting out large fires inside buildings near the Arc de Triomphe as protesters filmed with their phones.

The violence prompted 19 Paris Metro stations to shut down while department stores, including the famous Galeries Lafayettes, closed early.

Mr Macron, who is expected to arrive in France from the Buenos Aires G20 summit late this morning, is holding an emergency meeting on security with his prime minister later today - and has warned that those responsible for the violence will pay for their actions.

He will head straight to the Arc de Triomphe where Paris city employees are cleaning up the graffiti.

Protesters have been wearing the yellow vests which French drivers must carry, prompting the protests to be called Gilets Jaunes - yellow vests.

Politicians blamed far-left and far-right supporters of infiltrating the protests and turning them violent.

Benjamin Cauchy, a spokesman for Free Yellow Vests, said on Sunday that he wants a "constructive dialogue" with the government.

The protests were not contained to Paris, with yellow vest-clad protesters taking to streets across France.

They blocked off access to a terminal at Nice Airport, Marsaille experienced large crowds, more than 1,000 people were on Saint-Etienne's streets in the Loire Valley, and seven people were injured during clashes in Bordeaux - with one losing several fingers after a pyrotechnic device exploded.

A total of 65,000 security forces were on duty across France, with Mr Castaner saying anybody breaking the law "will be very strongly sanctioned".

Speaking at the G20 on Saturday evening Mr Macron said: "I will never accept violence.

Source: Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/Dec 2, 2018/AI