French President Emmanuel Macron
Perpetrators of the violence in ongoing protests in Paris will be punished, said French president Saturday.
Speaking during a press conference of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Emmanuel Macron said that those who are responsible for the attack on police officers and vandalization of a monument in the capital will be "held responsible for their acts".
"What happened in Paris today has nothing to do with the pacific expression of legitimate anger," he added.
Thousands of "yellow vest" protesters have gathered in Paris for the last two weeks to protest Macron's controversial fuel tax.
Police fired tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon in battles with "yellow vest" protesters around the Champs Elysees in Paris on Saturday, marking the third weekend of demonstrations across France against high living costs.Police said 122 people had been arrested amid concerns that violent far-right and far-left groups were infiltrating the "yellow vests" movement, a spontaneous grassroots rebellion over the struggle of many in France to make ends meet.For more than two weeks, the "gilets jaunes" (yellow vests) have blocked roads in protests across France, posing one of the largest and most sustained challenges Emmanuel Macron has faced in his 18-month-old presidency.In Paris, masked and hooded protesters picked up and hurled crowd barriers and other projectiles in running battles with police around the world famous Champs Elysees boulevard.Six policemen and 14 protesters have been injured, Paris police said.Video: Riot police use teargas against yellow vest protesters in Paris"We are attached to dialogue, but also the respect for the law," Edouard Philippe told reporters. "I am shocked by the attacks on the symbols of France."Several hundred yellow vests sat down around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the avenue, singing La Marseillaise, France's national anthem, and chanting, "Macron Resign!"On the facade of the towering 19th-century arch, protesters scrawled in big black letters: "The yellow vests will triumph."After several hours of skirmishes in the morning, police had appeared to clear the area around the Arc, but rioters and peaceful protesters subsequently returned. Clashes in adjacent streets also broke out where barricades were put up, car windows were smashed and at least two vehicles set alight.Along the Champs Elysees, peaceful demonstrators held up a slogan reading, "Macron, stop treating us like idiots!"Galeri: Protests against high fuel prices cripple ParisMACRON WON'T BE BOUNCED BY "THUGS"Macron said on Tuesday he understood the anger felt by voters outside France's big cities over the squeeze that fuel prices have put on households, but insisted he would not be bounced into changing policy by "thugs".Philippe said across France there were some 36,000 protesters and 5,500 in Paris. Police unions said there were 582 road blockages in France. Nantes airport in western France was briefly closed after protesters reached the tarmac.A week ago thousands of protesters, who have no leader and have largely organised themselves online, converged on Paris for the first time, turning the Champs Elysees into a battle zone as they clashed with police firing tear gas and water cannon."What message do the yellow vests want to pass today? That we set France on fire, or find solutions? I find this (violence) absurd," Jacline Mouraud, a prominent activist within the yellow vests movement, told BFM television.Galeri: French police clash with protesters in ParisBut a retired yellow-vest protester said: "The government is not listening. Revolution cannot happen without violence."The outburst of anger is strongest on the outskirts of smaller provincial towns and villages, and underlines the gap between metropolitan elites and working class voters that has boosted anti-establishment politics across the Western world.The immediate trigger for the protest wave was Macron's decision to raise tax on diesel fuel in a move to encourage the driving of less-polluting cars.The yellow vests, who enjoy widespread public support, get their name from the high-visibility jackets all motorists in France must carry in their vehicles.When they began, the protests caught Macron off-guard just as he was trying to counter a fall in his popularity rating to 30 percent. His unyielding response has exposed him to charges of being out of touch with ordinary people.
French police clash with 'yellow vest' protesters in Paris, 122 arrested
French authorities have drafted thousands of additional police officers into Paris ahead of a third demonstration on Saturday by protesters angry at high fuel prices as security officials warned of renewed violence.For more than two weeks, the "yellow vests" have blocked roads across France in a spontaneous, popular rebellion against diesel tax hikes and the high cost of living. It has grown into one of the largest and most stubborn challenges Emmanuel Macron has faced in his 18-month-old presidency.A week ago thousands of protesters, who have no leader and have largely organised themselves online, converged on Paris for the first time, turning the Champs Elysees into a battlezone as they clashed with police firing tear gas and water canon."We're worried that small groups of rioters that aren't yellow vests will infiltrate (the demonstration) to fight security forces and challenge the authority of the state," said Denis Jacob, Secretary General of the Alternative Police union."Given the high level of security around the Champs the fear is thugs will go to other places," he said.Officials said they expected some 5,000 police and gendarmes in Paris, up from about 3,000 last Saturday. Another 5,000 will be deployed across the country for other yellow vests protests.Workmen erected metal barriers and plywood boards on the glass-fronted facades of restaurants and boutiques lining Paris' most famous avenue on Friday. The Champs Elysees will be closed to traffic and pedestrians will be funnelled through checkpoints."There's a lot of incitement on social media and we are expecting excess and violence," David Michaux of the UNSA Police union told Reuters, adding that far-right and far-left groups were expected.Three protests are officially planned across Paris on Saturday, including the "yellow vests", a union protest against unemployment and a separate demonstration against racism.For now, the "yellow vests" -- who take their name from the high-visibility jackets all motorists in France must carry in their vehicles -- enjoy widespread public support.When they began, the protests caught Macron off-guard just as he was trying to counter a plunge in popularity, with his approval at barely 20 percent. His unyielding response has exposed him to charges of being out of touch with ordinary people.
French police brace for more violent protests over rising fuel costs
During Saturday's protests, the yellow vests entered the famous Champs-Elysées Street throwing stones and bottles at the police and setting public property ablaze.
The president said he would not accept violence and was ready to negotiate legitimate demands from the protesters.
Meeting with Saudi crown prince
On the meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Macron said he told him "we all want to reveal details of Khashoggi murder".
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist working for The Washington Post, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
After weeks of saying he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration later admitted he was killed there, blaming his death on a group of rogue Saudi operatives.
Last week, France imposed a travel ban on 18 Saudi citizens over their suspected involvement in the killing of Khashoggi.
Members of the French parliament voted in favour of a ban on parents smacking their children, falling into line with the majority of European Union member states, although there will be no punishment for breaking the law.The civil code will be updated to state that parental authority must be exercised without violence and that parents may not resort to "physical, verbal or psychological violence, nor to corporal punishment or humiliation".The ban was approved in a thinly attended National Assembly session in the early hours of Friday, with 51 votes in favour, one against and three abstentions.It reverses parental rights to discipline children using corporal punishment granted under Napoleon in the early 1800s."Education through violence can only create more violence in society. It also leads to failure at school, illness, suicide, anti-social behaviour and delinquence," said Maud Petit of the centrist MoDem party, a partner in parliament with French President Emmanuel Macron's LREM party.The ban was proposed by France's gender equality minister, Marlene Schiappa, who told Le Parisien newspaper that parents are wrong to believe that shouting, slapping or twisting children's ears are appropriate ways to assert authority."No violence is educational," she said.French First Lady Brigitte Macron also supported the ban, but a few conservative and far-right MPs have condemned it as an interference in families' private lives.As part of the vote, the government will prepare a report about parental violence and propose measures to educate parents.Following the example of Sweden in 1966, some 54 countries - including 22 of the EU's 28 member countries - have introduced similar laws banning corporal punishment in the home, according to French data. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau Writing by Geert De Clercq Editing by Luke Baker and Peter Graff)
Overturning Napoleon-era rights, France bans smacking kids
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was sidelined during the official "family photo" of world leaders and other dignitaries at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires on Friday, standing at the far edge of the group portrait and ignored.Prince Mohammed's presence at the international summit has been contentious following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.The crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, quickly exited the stage without shaking hands or talking with other leaders.At center stage was Argentine President Mauricio Macri, hosting this year's summit of G20 industrialized nations.Macri has said accusations that Prince Mohammed was involved in Khashoggi's death could be discussed by world leaders during the two-day summit. Saudi Arabia has said the prince had no prior knowledge of the murder.Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prince Mohammed later exchanged a high-five and a handshake and laughed heartily as they took seats next to each other in the main meeting room. 
Saudi Crown Prince sidelined in G20 family photo