French authorities have deployed thousands of police on Paris’ Champs-Elysees avenue to try to contain protests by people angry over rising taxes and President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

The so-called yellow jackets have called for new demonstrations and road blockades Saturday across France, including the capital, where a demonstration last weekend turned violent.

A worker reinforces a shop window on the Champs Elysees avenue, in Paris, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Workers were barricading shop windows along Paris' famed Champs-Elysees Avenue on Friday, a day before a protest against government fuel tax hikes and other measures seen as hurting average citizens. A demonstration on the avenue a week earlier degenerated into violence and police used tear gas and water cannons to regain control. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A worker reinforces a shop window on the Champs Elysees avenue, in Paris, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Workers were barricading shop windows along Paris’ famed Champs-Elysees Avenue on Friday, a day before a protest against government fuel tax hikes and other measures seen as hurting average citizens. A demonstration on the avenue a week earlier degenerated into violence and police used tear gas and water cannons to regain control. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Hundreds of people gathered at the top of the Champs-Elysees on Saturday morning. Access to the avenue was closed to cars and strictly monitored by police with identity checks and bag inspections.

Women walk past barricaded shop windows on the Champs Elysees avenue, in Paris, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Workers were barricading shop windows along Paris' famed Champs-Elysees Avenue on Friday, a day before a protest against government fuel tax hikes and other measures seen as hurting average citizens. A demonstration on the avenue a week earlier degenerated into violence and police used tear gas and water cannons to regain control. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Women walk past barricaded shop windows on the Champs Elysees avenue, in Paris, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Workers were barricading shop windows along Paris’ famed Champs-Elysees Avenue on Friday, a day before a protest against government fuel tax hikes and other measures seen as hurting average citizens. A demonstration on the avenue a week earlier degenerated into violence and police used tear gas and water cannons to regain control. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Police briefly used tear gas to disperse the crowd as some tried to force their way through.

The protests, which began with motorists demonstrating against a fuel tax hike, now involve a broad range of demands related to the country’s high cost of living.

Source: The Associated Press

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