French military join police to tackle latest 'Yellow Vest' protest

[March 23, 2019]    PARIS (Reuters) - French military forces joined police in Paris on Saturday to tackle the nineteenth consecutive weekend of "yellow vest" protests against President Emmanuel Macron's government.

French gendarmes and riot police officers secure the Champs-Elysees avenue in front of the famed restaurant Fouquet's during the Act XIX (the 19th consecutive national protest on a Saturday) of the "yellow vests" movement in Paris, France, March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Protesters were banned from gathering on the Champs Elysees after shops and businesses there were looted and wrecked last weekend, prompting the government to call in "Operation Sentinelle" military units.

Pockets of demonstrators began to gather in other parts of Paris and other major French cities in the latest protests which began in November after public anger against fuel taxes rises.

The movement has morphed into a broader backlash against Macron's government, despite it scrapping the fuel taxes.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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