Yellow vest protesters descend on Paris after Bastille Day parade
Paris’ Champs Elysees avenue was set upon by so-called yellow vest protesters this afternoon, hours after it played host to the traditional Bastille Day military parade.
Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters, who were trying to block the historic boulevard after it reopened to traffic on the French national holiday.
Protesters hurled objects at police, booed and set bins on fire before they were forced out.
A video obtained by Reuters showed a man kicking a policeman to the ground from behind and punching him after the policeman had used pepper spray to push back a couple. The policeman and his colleagues fought back with truncheons.
President Emmanuel Macron had already left for the Elysees presidential palace for lunch.
The yellow vest demonstrations have dogged Macron since November, when as many as 300,000 people took to the streets to protest fuel price hikes and economic policy. But numbers have dwindled, and Sunday’s protests consisted of around 200 people, according to police.
Paris Police chief Didier Lallement told journalists order had been restored on Sunday evening.
Main image: Getty