Dozens of protesters knocked down security barriers and set fire to refuse bins
PARIS, July 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French police fired tear gas at protesters during a tense standoff in central Paris on Sunday in the aftermath of the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees.
Officers attempted to disperse dozens of protesters, who chanted anti-government slogans, knocked down security barriers erected for the parade and set fire to refuse bins.
Sunday’s violence was the worst seen in central Paris since March.
The clashes tarnished the July 14 national day that commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille fortress in Paris during the French Revolution and is marked every year by a military parade.
Pres Emmanuel Macron sought to showcase European military cooperation in the parade, hosting key EU leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Before the current clashes erupted, Paris authorities said 152 people had been detained.
But the parade, which wrapped up at lunchtime, then passed without any hitch. — NNN-AGENCIES
