Authorities count 31,000 demonstrators in France, arrest more than 700 people

NEWS DESK

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that about 31,000 people joined the "Gilets Jaunes" protests on Saturday across France.

The security official, according to what was quoted by France Press Agency that 700 people were arrested against the backdrop of the demonstrations.

Nunez said, "At the national level, including Paris, more than 700 people have been arrested in protests involving some 31,000 demonstrators across the country, including 8,000 in Paris."

Earlier, France Press Agency reported that the French authorities had arrested 278 people shortly after the start of the "yellow jackets."

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on Thursday that some 89,000 security personnel would be deployed across the country in preparation for Saturday's protests, including 8,000 in Paris, as well as the deployment of armored vehicles on the streets.

Edouard Philippe added, "We face people who have come here not to protest but to sabotage, and we would like to have the means to restraint them."

Edouard Philippe said that about 10 armored vehicles of the gendarmerie will be used, and this is the first time they have been used since 2005 when riots broke out in the suburbs of Paris.

"Gilets Jaunes" Movement has begun since more than three weeks, protesting the government's decision to increase fuel taxes.

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