Iran Press/Europe: Bruno Le Maire pledged the government would help cover damages suffered by business during the latest Yellow Jackets riots, calling the destruction caused by protesters a "catastrophe for our economy."
"It's a time when normally business is going well, it's the eve of Christmas celebrations, and now, it's a catastrophe," Le Maire told during a tour of a Paris neighborhood battered by the latest protests. "It's a catastrophe for business, it's a catastrophe for our economy," he noted according to AFP.
The government will deliver a "very concrete and very direct" response to businesses affected by the violence, he said, adding: "The bills for the damages must be covered by the state, by solidarity, by the insurers."
His comments came after French police fired the first batches of tear gas on Saturday as massive crowds of protesters swarmed into the heart of the capital, Paris on the 4th weekend of unrest.
Videos from the area show people coughing and sneezing after tear gas canisters were fired into the lines of demonstrators.
Beefing up its presence, law enforcement also deployed armored vehicles belonging to the French military police. The hardware was stationed right next to the Arc de Triomphe, which last week saw one of the fiercest battles between police and protesters.
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