All eyes on Macron after fresh 'yellow vest' protests hit Paris
Paris, Dec 9 : A huge clean-up operation was under way in Paris on Sunday after French "yellow vest" demonstrators clashed with riot police in the latest round of protests against President Emmanuel Macron, but a heavy security deployment averted a repeat of last week's destruction.
Protesters nonetheless set fire to cars, burned barricades and smashed windows in pockets of violence across the city centre, clad in their emblematic luminous safety jackets, as armoured vehicles rolled through the streets.
The embattled president -- whose name rang out across the Champs-Elysees as protesters shouted "Macron, resign" -- is expected to address the demonstrations in a much-anticipated speech in the coming days.
Clashes broke out in cities across France, including Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse, during a fourth weekend of nationwide protests against rising living costs and Macron in general.
But it was Paris which again bore the brunt of the violence and destruction.
"Dozens of shopkeepers have fallen victim to hooligans," Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted. "Once again, this is deplorable." Thick plumes of black smoke from fires rose high into the sky as police fired tear gas, while numerous shops and a Starbucks cafe were ransacked.
"The weather is crap and so is this government," a handful of protesters chanted as light rain began to fall. It turned to downpours by mid-evening, scattering many of the remaining demonstrators.
The outbreaks of violence were on a smaller scale than the destruction and looting of a week earlier, when some 200 cars were torched in the worst rioting in Paris in decades.
The government had vowed "zero tolerance" for anarchist, far-right or other trouble-makers seeking to wreak further havoc at protests that have sparked the deepest crisis of Macron's presidency.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe congratulated police for the operation, and promised Macron would address the protesters' concerns.
"The dialogue has begun and it must continue," Philippe said. "The president will speak, and will propose measures that will feed this dialogue." Police reinforcements were boosted to 8,000 across the city, with armoured vehicles deployed in Paris for the first time.
Shops along the Champs-Elysees and central department stores stayed shut with their windows boarded up to avoid looting.
The Eiffel Tower, major museums and many metro stations were also closed as parts of Paris went on effective lockdown.
More than 670 protesters were detained in the capital, many of them stopped as they arrived at train stations or meeting points carrying hammers, petanque balls and other potential missiles.
Authorities also launched an investigation into social media activity from accounts allegedly drumming up support for the protests, sources told AFP.
According to the UK's Times newspaper, hundreds of online accounts linked to Russia were used to stoke the demonstrations.
Citing analysis by New Knowledge, a cybersecurity company, the Times said the accounts spread disinformation and used pictures of injured protesters from other events to enhance a narrative of brutality by French authorities.
Officials estimated that a total 125,000 "yellow vests" turned out nationwide throughout the day, down from 136,000 last week.
In Paris, health authorities said 179 people had been admitted to hospital, mostly with minor injuries. Among the police, 17 were hurt, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said.
The movement has spread beyond France's borders, with around 400 arrested at a "yellow vest" event in Brussels on Saturday and peaceful demonstrations taking place in Dutch towns.
The French protests also attracted the attention of US President Donald Trump.
"Very sad day & night in Paris. Maybe it's time to end the ridiculous and extremely expensive Paris Agreement and return money back to the people in the form of lower taxes?" he tweeted.
The demonstrations are not directly linked to the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which Trump has abandoned to the dismay of Macron and other Western leaders.
People began blockading French roads on November 17 over rising fuel prices -- partly due to taxes aimed at helping the country transition to a lower-carbon economy.
But the demonstrations have since swollen into a broad movement against ex-banker Macron, whom the protesters accuse of favouring the rich.
Nationwide, 89,000 police officers were on duty in towns, cities and on numerous motorways which caused havoc on France's road network, including a blockade of a border crossing with Spain.
Nearly 1,400 people were detained across France, according to Castaner.
Macron this week gave in to some of the protesters' demands for measures to help the poor and struggling middle classes, including scrapping a planned increase in fuel taxes.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
