PARIS — Rioters set fire to a bank and ransacked stores on Paris’ landmark shopping street in a new flare-up of violence as France’s yellow vest protests against President Emmanuel Macron and his pro-business reforms entered a fourth month. Rioters also set fire to an upmarket handbag store and two news-stands on the Champs Elysees avenue while scattered bonfires burned on the iconic thoroughfare. Police had arrested more than 150 protesters by late afternoon as demonstrators looted stores around the Champs Elysees and ransacked the high-end Fouquet’s restaurant. Several hundred meters (yards) down the Champs Elysees, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told journalists the latest violence was “unacceptable” and all would be done to bring perpetrators to justice. After the spike in violence, Macron offered a package of concessions worth more than 10 billion euros (US$11 billion) aimed at boosting the incomes of the poorest workers and pensioners.

Source: National Post March 16, 2019 18:45 UTC