For the seventh straight week, "yellow jackets" angry at social and economic policy by French President Emmanuel Macaron continue to move, but less than in recent weeks, with only a few protesters gathering until Saturday noon.
The number of participants in the demonstrations began a month and a half ago. While the number of protesters was 282,000 on 17 November 2018, it fell to 66,000 on December 15, while it did not gather on December 22 (December) last more than 38 thousand demonstrators, according to official figures.
Many members of the movement, which grew out of any political or union framework, are due to the end of the year celebrations and are preparing for stronger moves in January, despite government concessions.
"The whole world must understand that we have decided not to stop," Thierry, 51, told AFP, a car repair worker, denouncing the unfair distribution of wealth in France.
In Marseille, hundreds of protesters gathered with yellow balloons. "We want to restore our purchasing power and have a say in decision-making," said Priscilla Ludowski, one of the first to launch the petition against raising fuel prices.
Ludowski is convinced that the movement will continue over the next year, and believes that the government´s announcement of an increase in purchasing value "is not enough," and government decisions must be subject to a referendum.
In other French cities, the "yellow jackets" activists have not announced their next moves to surprise security forces.
In Paris, demonstrators rallied in the squares through Facebook with the Yellow Jacket without wearing it. In the morning, the Champs-Elysées were empty of protesters, but full of security forces deployed along the avenue.
Some rallies have taken place in Bordeaux, which has seen clashes in recent weeks, as well as in Toulouse and Lyon.
Meanwhile, Macaron continues to criticize the "yellow jacket grudge," some of whose members tried Thursday to storm the Priganson castle, home to the country´s presidents during the summer.
Some of them sat around overnight, while some gatherings were expected Monday night in the Champs-Elysées.
Since the start of the protests more than a month ago, 10 people were killed on the sidelines of demonstrations, and 1,500 demonstrators were injured, 50 of them seriously injured.
