Yellow Vests join student protests in France with dozens arrested

The Yellow Vests movement has returned to the streets of France, joining ongoing student-led demonstrations amid intense security measures and dozens of arrests across multiple cities. Paris police announced the detention of 61 individuals, including 21 outside a media headquarters where windows were shattered. Authorities stated they conducted approximately 600 identity checks and searches, confiscating banned items such as masks, while dispersing two unauthorized marches in the capital involving union members and high school students. The protests caused widespread disruptions to public transport and traffic, including the closure of metro stations and the imposition of severe road restrictions. French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot stated via X that a major road in Rennes was closed in both directions for an hour before traffic resumed, noting that protesters deliberately slowed down traffic on the RN12 national highway towards Rennes, causing severe congestion and prompting a call for citizens to follow security instructions. France is bracing for a massive wave of protests with official estimates expecting tens of thousands of participants nationwide, as security forces intervened in several cities to disperse gatherings and clear makeshift roadblocks. In Marseille, the main Prado avenue was briefly blocked with garbage bins and electric bikes before police cleared the path, alongside reported fires in waste containers in other neighborhoods. A participating student named Aude stated that the movement protests deteriorating educational conditions and police violence, emphasizing the youth desire to study in proper conditions. In the greater Paris region, police detained 40 people by morning for carrying prohibited protective gear or weapons. In Lyon, around 150 people gathered peacefully before riot police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators along the Rhone River. In Rennes, protesters attempted to block a street with burning barricades before security intervention. The main rally in Paris is scheduled to set off from Republic Square toward Clichy Square after authorities denied access to central government sites, following weeks of student demands to meet Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Near the Champs-Elysees, shops fortified their storefronts despite the protest ban, while numerous riot vans were deployed. Around 100 individuals targeted a news channel headquarters in western Paris by blocking the parking garage entrance, and police detained a social media influencer in Creteil following a referral for allegedly inciting riots and violence online. A riot police unit commander expressed fears that serious injuries could lead to further major escalation, recalling previous attacks that wounded several officers. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump remarked during a Georgia rally that the French are very skilled at making revolutions. In a separate incident, a fire broke out at a high school in Saint-Nazaire after a 14-year-old girl ignited a corridor, resulting in severe burns to a student before teachers successfully extinguished the flames.