Macron urged to bring an end to ‘yellow vest’ protests

PARIS: Calls mounted Sunday for President Emmanuel Macron to bring an end to the "yellow vest" crisis gripping France as authorities counted the cost of another day of violent protests and looting.

Authorities said the anti-Macron riots in Paris had been less violent than a week ago, with fewer injured -- but city hall said the physical damage was far worse as the protests were spread out across the capital.

Burned-out cars dotted the streets in several neighbourhoods on Sunday morning as cleaners swept up the broken glass from smashed shop windows and bus stops. "There was much more dispersion, so many more places were impacted," Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told France Inter radio.

"There was much more damage yesterday than there was a week ago." The southwestern city of Bordeaux was also badly hit by rioting during a fourth successive weekend of nationwide "yellow vest" protests.

What began as demonstrations against fuel tax hikes have ballooned into a mass movement over rising living costs and accusations that Macron, an ex-banker, only looks out for the rich. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the unrest was a "catastrophe" for the French economy, with nationwide roadblocks playing havoc with the traffic and putting off tourists from visiting Paris. Parts of the capital went on lockdown Saturday, with department stores shut to avoid looting along with museums and monuments including the Eiffel Tower.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux vowed that Macron´s centrist administration would find solutions that took into account protesters’ grievances. They overwhelmingly hail from rural and small-town France but have a range of different goals, from lower taxes to Macron´s resignation.

"It is clear that we underestimated people´s need to make themselves heard," Griveaux told Europe 1 radio. "It is anger that is difficult to understand from an office in Paris," he acknowledged.

Alain Juppe, mayor of Bordeaux where a protester lost his hand after picking up an anti-riot grenade, joined calls from across the political spectrum for Macron to respond. "This disorder must end," the former prime minister tweeted. "The president must speak, and speak quickly."