Arrest of French ‘yellow vest’ leader sparks outrage

– Protests on Saturday –

The “yellow vest” protests have caused the biggest political crisis of Macron’s 20-month presidency.

In mid-December, after weeks of violence, Macron scrapped planned fuel tax rises in response to the protests and promised extra cash for minimum wage earners and tax cuts for pensioners.

Since then, the movement has waned and support among the general public has fallen.

Only a couple of hundred of “yellow vests” turned up for the last round of demonstrations on the Champs-Elysees on New Year’s Eve. They were swamped by tens of thousands of revellers ringing in the new year.

But “yellow vests” have promised to return in force to the streets this Saturday.

Opinion polls suggest the French are evenly divided over whether the protest movement should continue.