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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Peter Allen, Ella Wills

Paris riots: Children as young as 12 among 153 arrested at high school near French capital

Children as young as 12 were among 153 pupils arrested at a high school near Paris after new protests in support of the “Yellow Vests” movement.

Dramatic footage shows how police in riot gear lined up youngsters on their knees with their hands tied behind them.

The pupils, from the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Mante-la-Jolie, 30 miles west of Paris, had allegedly threatened to burn down the school during a nationwide day of action that blockaded schools in protest at education reforms.

It comes as French authorities are braced for the possibility of more riots and violence at anti-government protests this weekend.

Police in riot gear lined up youngsters on their knees with their hands tied behind their heads (Facebook)

Prime minister Edouard Philippe said 89,000 police will be deployed across France, with armoured cars in Paris and the Eiffel Tower and Louvre shut.

Police unions and city authorities met to strategise on how to handle the protests on Saturday, which are being held even though French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week cancelled a fuel tax hike that had unleashed weeks of unrest.

The Eiffel Tower, along with more than a dozen museums, two theatres and other cultural sites in Paris, will be closed Saturday for security reasons.

The Paris Opera has cancelled planned performances Saturday on its two Parisian sites.

Two music festivals in Paris have been postponed and the Arc de Triomphe remains closed since it was damaged in last weekend's protest, which left over 130 people injured.

Paris police have also urged shops in the city's high-end Champs-Elysees area to close Saturday as a precaution.

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