Yellow-vest protests in France

This item appears on page 18 of the April 2019 issue.

Protests against price increases in France that began in November 2018 continued through February. The protesters, known as "yellow vests" due to their wearing reflective vests, have gathered in cities across the country in the tens of thousands, including in Paris, Marseille and Lyon.

Protests have occasionally become violent. On Feb. 11 in Paris, a protester lost fingers when he picked up a nonlethal grenade filled with plastic pellets and it exploded in his hand.

On Feb. 17, a Jewish academic who had expressed support for the protests required a police escort when protesters threatened him and yelled antisemitic slurs. Thousands of people attended rallies against antisemitism across the country on Feb. 19, including president Emmanuel Macron.