Over 7,000 People Taking Part In Yellow Vest Rallies In Paris - French Interior Minister

Over 7,000 people are taking part in the yellow vest protests in the French capital of Paris on Saturday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2019) Over 7,000 people are taking part in the yellow vest protests in the French capital of Paris on Saturday, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.

This is already the eighteenth consecutive weekend of rallies, which started in mid-November last year over the government's plans to raise fuel taxes.

"From 7,000 to 8,000 people are currently rallying in Paris, and out of them around 1,500 people are ultraviolent, and they have come to destroy and to attack," Castaner said as aired by the BFMTV broadcaster.

Clashes between yellow vest activists and police forces continue for over two hours already, mostly in the beginning of famed Champs-Elysees avenue.

The police have already used fire gas, smoke bombs and even water cannon against the protesters, who attacked them with stones.

According to the BFMTV, a group of aggressive activists were also smashing boutiques located on the Champs-Elysees.

As many as 64 protesters have already been detained in Paris, the broadcaster added, citing the police prefecture.

While the French government abandoned its plans to raise fuel taxes and introduced other measures to improve the country's socioeconomic situation, protesters continue to take to the streets across France every weekend to express their discontent with the government's policies.