Title: Everything Travelers Need to Know About the Paris Riots 2019
Headings: What Travelers Need to Know About the Ongoing Paris Riots
What Travelers Need to Know About the Ongoing Paris Riots
Photo by Guillaume Louyot Onickz Artworks / Shutterstock
Yellow Vest protesters tagged the Arc de Triomphe at protests on December 1, 2018.
What caused the Paris riots?
Which neighborhoods in Paris are affected?
What are the December 5 strikes about?
Is the U.S. State Department warning against travel to France?
Photo by Paulo Amorim / Shutterstock
Yellow Vest protesters confront anti-riot police in Paris on January 5, 2019.
What should you do if you’re traveling to France?
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Content: At its peak in late 2018, an estimated 282,000 people took part in anti-government protests across the country. In recent months, the number of people taking part in the demonstrations dwindled to just a few thousand people. But on the movement’s first anniversary, its leaders called for people to turn out once again. While police have banned protests from taking place near the Eiffel Tower and other tourist attractions, several dozen Paris Metro and RER stations were closed on Saturday and into Sunday in light of the violence. By Saturday night, the Paris police said they had arrested 147 people involved in the protests in France’s capital city. Here’s what travelers need to know about visiting Paris and other parts of France right now. Photo by Guillaume Louyot Onickz Artworks / Shutterstock
Yellow Vest protesters tagged the Arc de Triomphe at protests on December 1, 2018. What caused the Paris riots? The Yellow Vests Movement—named after the fluorescent vests the protesters are wearing during their demonstrations—began in mid-November 2018 in reaction to French President Emmanuel Macron’s fuel tax hike, which was implemented to help reduce emissions and combat global warming. Even though Macron cancelled the tax on December 5, 2018, the protests continued and have become a more generalized reaction against the government’s overall economic policies and the high cost of living.