Alwaght- France has moved to deploy military forces across the country to suppress Yellow Vest weekend protests which have continued unabated over the last 18 weeks.
The military will secure government buildings and other sites to allow police forces to focus on maintaining public order, President Emmanuel Macron said, according to comments reported on Wednesday by government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux.
About 7,000 soldiers, most armed with automatic weapons, are already deployed across the country in what the military calls Operation Sentinel, which was created to protect sensitive sites following deadly attacks in 2015, AP reported.
On Monday, the French government announced new security measures and a ban on Yellow Vest protests along the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris and in two other cities, following riots on Saturday.
The movement had recently been characterized by politicians and media in France as losing steam, but a large crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysees avenue for the 18th straight week of anti-government protests.
Protesters erected barricades near the Champs-Elysees in scenes reminiscent of some of the tensest protests, prompting police to fire tear gas to disperse them.
The new protests coincided with the end of two months of public debates called by President Emmanuel Macron to take the heat out of the protests.
The unrest began in November over fuel tax hikes but quickly ballooned into an anti-Macron revolt.
Over 5,000 police were deployed in anticipation of violence after the organizers of last Saturday's protest presented it as an "ultimatum" to Macron.
