Eiffel Tower, shops, to close as fears of French protest violence mount

Crack out the tear gas, rubber bullets and riot gear.

This is the equivalent to those children you see throwing tantrums in a super market because they can't have something they want.

All sympathy and support for a cause is lost when a protest turns hostile.

Violent protests are commonplace in Africa countries (look to South Africa for example) and look at how that continent is doing! (spoiler: poorly)

Will it spead, ...like we dont trust our politicians?

Violent protests are commonplace in Africa countries (look to South Africa for example) and look at how that continent is doing! (spoiler: poorly)

Do you understand, though, why violent protests take place?

South Africa has a history of violent protests, currently it's against any number of things. Political unrest, social unrest, people protesting for the right to clean water or people simply protesting against power supplies being disconnected and then they are arrested for it.

https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/qa-defending-right-protest-south-africa

When Governments - in France, South Africa, the US, wherever - rides roughshod over the people, there will be consequences.

But if protests are met with extreme responses and the rulers clamp down, introduce martial law or ban the right to assemble - that's when democracy is under siege.

Ominously I read recently that some units of the French police are sympathetic to the demonstrations, resent being out in the front line to stop them, and are considering striking themselves.

*And no, I cannot find the source of that right now, so no way of verifying this.

We are talking about EU are you citicen?

nanakandamanda, yes, it did happen once, in a small and remote city, but this was before the violent events of last saturday. It was shown on BFMTV: half a dozen of policemen took off their helmets to express their feelings of sympathy towards... elderly people wearing yellow jackets. Indeed, many retired workers are bitterly angry against Macron's tax policy, which is very hard on retirees (and in the meantime so obviously devoted to the big corporations)...