France 'yellow vest' protesters defy government to gather

[BrennoARTS]

"Yellow vest" protesters have gathered in Paris and other cities for a fifth consecutive Saturday of demonstrations.

Protesters defied a government call to suspend the action following Tuesday's attack on Strasbourg's Christmas market where a gunman killed four people.However, fewer people turned up - 66,000 altogether, officials said, compared to 125,000 last Saturday.The movement, initially against a rise in fuel taxes, now addresses other issues, including education reforms.

Seven people have died in the "gilets jaunes" (yellow vest) protests so far, the latest in an accident resulting from a blockade by protesters on Friday.

How is this Saturday shaping up?

About 69,000 police have been mobilised across France to prevent a repeat of the violence of previous weeks.

In Paris, slightly more than 2,000 took to the streets on a cold and rainy day, compared to 10,000 last week.

A few hundred desultory figures in day-glo vests wander up and down the Champs Elysées. Occasionally there are whoops and jeers, followed by a bang and a bit of gas. A group of protesters has got too close to a police cordon, and a show of force pushes them back. The mini-panic lasts about 15 seconds.

That is about the extent of the fifth yellow-vest demonstration, which confirms the downward trend of last Saturday. Maybe the troublemakers will enter the game like they did last week - but it can't be on the same scale, because today there simply aren't enough bona fide protesters around to give them cover.

The "gilets jaunes" who have turned out seem to be the hardline left-wing element. There is a lot of talk about the "RIC" - Citizens' Initiative Referendums. This is a demand of the far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon - and a long way from the yellow vests' original call, which was for a simple cut in fuel tax (long since conceded).

The movement - or at least the Saturday protest movement - is shrinking and hardening.