French authorities have arrested a key organizer of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) movement for leading an unauthorized demonstration, signaling a crackdown on the anti-government demonstrators after nearly two months of violence-filled protests.
Eric Drouet, a truck driver from the suburbs of Paris, was arrested in Paris on Wednesday evening near the iconic Champs-Élysées avenue – a prime location for the yellow vests to gather. Drouet was detained while leading a commemoration of yellow vests who have died since the movement’s inception, most of whom were hit by cars during protests at roundabouts throughout the country, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“The arrest and detention of Mr. Drouet is completely unjustified and arbitrary,” said Drouet’s attorney in a Thursday statement.
The coming weeks will test whether Mr. Macron’s government can stop the protests, which have slowed the French economy and are undermining his plans for a free-market overhaul of France. Participation waned during the holiday season, but yellow vests are organizing new demonstrations this Saturday in Paris and elsewhere. Protesters continue to camp out at roundabouts across the countryside.
The government has struggled to contain the grass-roots movement, which has no organized leadership and has refused to declare demonstrations to the authorities as required by French law.
Mr. Drouet has emerged as one of its most high-profile members, appearing in the media frequently and calling for protests on Facebook. Mr. Drouet called for Wednesday evening’s commemoration, giving the authorities an opening to detain him. –WSJ
The yellow vest protests began as a demonstration against a climate change fuel tax, and quickly spread throughout France as a widespread rejection of French President Emmanuel Macron and his administration. Rioting yellow vests have clashed with police nearly every weekend since the protests began, with upscale Paris neighborhoods experiencing shattered storefronts and burning cars.
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