The prefecture of police reported that 450 yellow vests marched the streets of Paris this Saturday afternoon. They marked the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the movement, which started in the fall of 2018. Eight people were arrested without incident, according to the prefecture.
Raining on the fifth anniversary. To mark the five years since the beginning of the movement, several hundred yellow vests took to the streets of Paris this Saturday afternoon. The police prefecture specifically counted 450 fluorescent fabrics and announced that they had arrested eight people, without any incident.
The procession started in the rain around 2:30pm from Place Franz Liszt in the 10th arrondissement of the capital, where the drums were beating. Some protesters also brandished a “#Destitution” banner in front of the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul church, as reported by the AFP. Some wore signs saying “Gilets at the end of my dreams,” while singing loudly “We are here” and “Macron’s regime is disgusting.”
Earlier in the morning, videos showed several dozen yellow vests spraying yellow paint in the rain at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe, before being quickly interrupted by the police.
A movement becoming less active. Authorities did not expect the same level of protest this weekend as five years ago, but rather symbolic actions from “mischievous yellow vests,” according to a police source speaking to the AFP.
The yellow vest movement, which began in the fall of 2018 to protest against Emmanuel Macron’s policies and the cost of living, has been less active in recent months. The Parisian demonstration marking the fourth anniversary in 2022 had gathered 680 people, according to police.
L.H with AFP
