French Govt. Increases Security Forces in Yellow Vests Protest

Paris, Jan 12 (Prensa Latina) French authorities will strengthen security for the yellow vest movement protests, reaching this ninth consecutive Saturday of actions across the country.

Over 80,000 policemen and gendarmes will be mobilized throughout the country, 5,000 of whom will be in Paris, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced.

The aim is to prevent the violent clashes that happened in the most recent demonstrations between the security forces and some demonstrators, he said.

The issue generates a strong controversy because during mobilizations there has been car, motorcycle and garbage dump burning, setting-off of firecrackers, as well as the use of tear gas and rubber bullets by the police.

Facing such events, the major figures of the yellow vest movement insist that rioters are small groups of people who do not represent the majority, which adopts a position of peaceful reclamation before the authorities.

They also denounce that government and media focus on these violent incidents to justify the police attack and to distort the essence of the mobilization.

On the other hand, the Paris police prefect, Michel Delpuech, indicated in statements to TV that massive demonstrations are expected for this Saturday, with a much higher attendance than last Saturday.

The director general of the National Police, Éric Morvan, said in statements to Radio France Inter that 'we foresee a return to a level of mobilization similar to that seen before the Christmas holidays.