PARIS, January 19. /TASS/. The overall number of protestors who took to the streets all across France during the Yellow Vests campaign on Saturday remained largely unchanged since last weekend and is estimated at 84,000, the BFM TV reported citing Interior Ministry data.
A total of 7,000 of them took part in protests in the capital Paris, where 42 people were detained for public order violations by Saturday evening. At approximately 16:15 local time (18:15 Moscow time), protestors started throwing stones at police and security forces, who in return used tear gas and water cannons against the crowd.
According to BFM, the violence has already subsided and law enforcement units started to gradually withdraw from the city center.
The biggest protest was held in Toulouse, where 10,000 people took to the streets. The march in Bordeaux gathered between 4,000 and 6,000 participants, 49 of them were detained. Eight people were detained in Avignon, where a bonfire was set right before the entrance to the city hall.
"I welcome the work of law enforcers, who were on duty all across France," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner wrote on his Twitter page. "I strongly condemn the disorders in Rennes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and new episodes of violence against journalists."
Since mid-November, France has been gripped by street riots over skyrocketing fuel prices, growing taxes and soaring living costs. The demonstrations spiraled into clashes with the police and a protest against the country’s leadership, whom protestors accuse of ineffective government and taking insufficient measures to fight poverty. Despite certain concessions made by the authorities, like cut taxes and wage hikes, the Yellow Vests are pledging to carry on these rallies.