Firemen extinguish burning cars set afire by protesters wearing yellow vests, a symbol of a French drivers’ protest against higher diesel fuel taxes, during clashes near the Place de l’Etoile in Paris, France, December 1, 2018. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
December 2, 2018
PARIS (Reuters) – France will consider imposing a state of emergency to prevent a recurrence of some of the worst civil unrest in more than a decade and urged peaceful protesters to come to the negotiating table, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said on Sunday.
Groups of young men with faces masked, some carrying metal bars and axes, rioted on the streets of central Paris on Saturday, setting a dozen vehicles ablaze and torching buildings.
“We have to think about the measures that can be taken so that these incidents don’t happen again,” Griveaux told Europe 1 radio.
When asked about imposing a state of emergency, he said the president, prime minister and interior minister would discuss all options available to them at a meeting on Sunday.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
