Parisian authorities were bracing Saturday morning for potentially chaotic protests in the capital by France's 'Yellow Jacket' movement, a group fighting against rising fuel prices.
The planned demonstrations, relayed on social media by supporters of the largely leaderless movement, come a week after some 283,000 protesters took to the streets across France.
Smaller protests, including blockades of motorways and fuel depots, have continued since then.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said Friday that those behind the protests should ‘take the responsibility’ and declare the events to police, as required by French law.
Some protest calls on social media have suggested the demonstrators should converge on the central Place de la Concorde, not far from the presidential Elysee Palace.
Authorities have said protests will not be allowed in that area and the demonstrators should instead gather in the gardens around the Eiffel Tower, slightly further from the centre.
Broadcaster BFMTV reported that 3,000 police and gendarmes would be deployed to secure the expected protests.
Seemingly baffled by the wide scale, popularity and vague demands of the movement, President Emmanuel Macron's government has promised measures to aid motorists, but has refused to cancel planned fuel tax rises that it says are needed to protect the environment.
