President Macron tours Arc De Triomphe after worst rioting in a generation hits Paris

France's President Emmanuel Macron, center, France's Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, center right, Secretary of State to the Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, left, and Paris police Prefect Michel Delpuech, right
AP
Sophie Williams2 December 2018

French president Emmanuel Macron has toured parts of Paris affected by the capital’s worst rioting in over 50 years.

Mr Macron visited the graffiti-damaged Arc de Triomphe monument and vowed that those responsible for the violence and damages will pay for their actions.

According to Paris police, over 400 people were arrested and 133 people were injured after a protest against rising taxes and the cost of living turned violent.

The president paid tribute to the tomb of the unknown soldier which lies beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) shakes hands with a firefighter during a visit in the streets of Paris
AFP/Getty Images

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

By Sunday morning Paris city employees were cleaning up the graffiti from the Arc de Triomphe.

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

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

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Saturday's violence was due to extremists who hijacked the protest, people who came "to loot, break and hit police forces".

He was asked why thousands of French police could not prevent the damage, especially to the Arc de Triomphe.

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

"Yesterday we made a choice ... to protect people before material goods," Mr Griveaux told French broadcaster BFM TV.

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. 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.

France's President Emmanuel Macron, center, waves to people after a visit of the Arc de Triomphe the day after a demonstration, in Paris
AP

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.

Mr Macron, speaking in Buenos Aires before he flew home, welcomed the views of the protesters but said there was no place for violence in public discourse.

"(Violence) has nothing to do with the peaceful expression of a legitimate anger" and "no cause justifies" attacks on police or pillaging shops and burning buildings, Mr Macron said.

Additional reporting by AP.

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