Paris authorities deploy 80,000 security forces in ninth weekend of ‘yellow vest’ protests | TheHill - The Hill

French police deployed 80,000 officers across the country as France faces the ninth straight weekend of "yellow vest" protests against French President Emmanuel Macron's economic policies.

The Associated Press reports that thousands of protesters wearing the signature yellow hazard vests marched in Paris and other French cities on Saturday as police threatened increased security measures to deal with sporadic violence.

Police deployed tear gas near the Parisian Arc de Triomphe monument on Saturday, the AP reported, after protesters allegedly threw rocks and other objects at officers.

The protests began last November after Macron's government proposed a tax hike on fuel prices, a position from which the government later backed off from in December.

The AP reports that protests gained strength over the Christmas holidays despite promises from the French government of upcoming tax relief as well as a "national conversation" with Macron to address demonstrators' concerns.

"There is a rising of the people's rage and it's caused by a single reason - the government's policies that only look to take from the poor to keep for the rich," French activist Taha Bouhafs told The New York Times last month.

Macron reportedly considered a national state of emergency last month over the protests, though that was ultimately not implemented.

France's government has warned that radical groups within the protests are gaining in influence, warning of "radicalized and rebellious" elements within the demonstrators.

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