Ahead of a fourth weekend of “yellow vests” anti-government protests – set to resume on December 8 – a representative of the movement said that they would go to the French president's residence. Meanwhile, intelligence services have reportedly alerted authorities about calls to kill parliamentarians, as well as government and military officials.
Concerns that the “yellow vests” riots — which have already left dozens of protesters and police officers injured, cars burned and national symbols, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Marianne statue, vandalized — could descend into armed clashes are growing among French officials, the broadcaster BFMTV reports.
The French newspaper Le Figaro has cited an unnamed source from the president's office, the Elysee Palace, referring to the “yellow vests” movement: “They are putschists, we are witnessing putschists' attempt”. The daily newspaper also reports that the country's intelligence services have alerted the president about “calls to kill and use weapons against parliamentarians, the government, officials and the military”. According to Reuters, an official at Macron's office said that a warning has been issued that some protesters would come to Paris “to vandalize and to kill”.
Ahead of what protesters refer to as Act IV, the French authorities warned about another wave of “great violence” and have braced themselves for new clashes.
65,000 security personnel will be…
