France's prime minister to meet with protest groups and opposition parties following weekend of riots in Paris

It comes following a weekend of riots in the French capital
EPA
Sophie Williams3 December 2018

France’s prime minister is to meet with protest groups following riots in Paris over the weekend.

Edouard Philippe has been instructed by President Macron to meet with protest groups and opposition parties this week.

Over 400 people were arrested after demonstrators took to the streets to protest rising fuel prices and high costs of living.

Mr Macron held an emergency meeting with Mr Philippe on Sunday and has not ruled out the possibility of imposing a state of emergency.

France's President Emmanuel Macron, center, France's Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, centre right, Secretary of State to the Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, left, and Paris police Prefect Michel Delpuech, right
AP

More anti-government protests have taken place on Monday ambulance workers took to the streets and gathered close to the National Assembly in downtown Paris to complain about changes to working conditions.

Protesters set tyres on fire and blocked traffic.

French ambulance drivers block traffic during a protest demonstration near the National Assembly in Paris
REUTERS

Images from the weekend showed torches cars, smashed windows and looted shops.

Graffiti is seen on a vandalized wall at the Arc de Triomphe the day after clashes with protesters wearing yellow vests
REUTERS

Slogans on the walls read “yellow jackets will triumph,” a reference to the fluorescent yellow vests that protesters wore to demand relief for France’s workers.

By Sunday morning, workers were already cleaning graffiti off the landmark.

Police prefect Michel Delpuech said that fires were started at six buildings and more than 112 vehicles were torched.

He added that some participants in the riots used hammers, gardening tools, bolts and aerosol cans in clashes with police.

Firefighters work to put out cars set on fire on a road nearby Arc de Triomphe
Getty Images

According to Mr Delpuech, some radical far-right or far-left activists were involved in the riot as well as a "great number" of protesters wearing yellow jackets.

It was the third straight weekend of clashes in Paris involving activists wearing the yellow vests.

The scene in Paris contrasted sharply with protests elsewhere in France on Saturday that were mostly peaceful.

"It's difficult to reach the end of the month.

Demonstrators destroy cars during a protest of Yellow vests
AFP/Getty Images

"People work and pay a lot of taxes and we are fed up," said Rabah Mendez, a protester who marched peacefully on Saturday in Paris.

The grassroots protests began on November 17 with motorists upset over a fuel tax hike but now involve a broad range of demands related to France's high cost of living.

Additional reporting by AP.

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