Yellow Vest protestors have peacefully taken to the streets of Paris for the 16th week in a row, despite being fired with tear gas by police.
The peaceful, orderly protest began at the Arc de Triomphe and ended at Place Denfert-Rochereau in the south of the city.
Rt.com reports: Videos taken by an RT France reporter even showed Yellow Vests and French police chatting amiably, with one protester even offering a riot cop a flower.
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La police discute avec les manifestants #giletsjaunes #acte16 pic.twitter.com/gT7YDlEl6Y
— Mona Hammoud-Elhor (@Mona_HamElhor) March 2, 2019
Une manifestante offre une fleur à un policier, un peu gêné, « je suis amoureuse » dit-elle #paris #giletsjaunes pic.twitter.com/7c6cyJBMiO
— Mona Hammoud-Elhor (@Mona_HamElhor) March 2, 2019
Police, however, later used tear gas on demonstrators who attempted to defy the pre-approved protest route by marching down New York Avenue.
Premiers tirs de gaz lacrymogène, après que des gilets jaunes ont tenté de poursuivre sur l’avenue de New York alors que les forces de l’ordre les appelaient à se diriger du côté de l’avenue Albert de Mun #acteXVI #paris pic.twitter.com/LOCyViyKwm
— Nadège Abderrazak (@Nadege_Abd) March 2, 2019
Similar marches are being held across France, but activists have expressed concern that the movement is losing momentum.
One Yellow Vest group on Facebook has called on demonstrators to return to the movement’s “spontaneous” roots with unsanctioned protests held at unauthorized locations.
The Yellow Vest movement began in November 2018 after French President Emmanuel Macron announced controversial tax hikes. Over 2,000 people have been arrested since the demonstrations began, and dozens of protesters have been injured during violent clashes with police.
Macron called for a “return to calm” on Friday, denouncing the “intolerable” violence that has resulted from the weeks of protests.
