The Latest: French minister ‘disgusted’ by protester attacks

PARIS (AP) - The Latest on the French yellow vest protests in Paris (all times local):

6 p.m.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has gone on Twitter to express his “disgust” as French yellow vest protesters set alight an anti-terror military car at a protest in Paris.

Such vehicles have been a common sight in Paris since the deadly attacks by extremists in 2015.

Paris demonstrators, who ended the 13th consecutive weekend of protest at the Eiffel Tower, set the vehicle ablaze in front of the famed monument.

Castaner said: “Every day the military … protects our compatriots from the risk of terrorism. These attacks are intolerable.”

Police said 31 demonstrators had been arrested Saturday as scuffles broke out between protesters and police. But the Interior Ministry said the protests are much smaller than last week’s.

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4:55 p.m.

French police say 21 demonstrators had been arrested as scuffles broke out between yellow vest protesters and police near the Champs-Elysees Avenue and the National Assembly.

A car, motorbikes and multiple trash bins were set ablaze as the protest moved toward the city’s Invalides monument but France’s Interior Ministry said this week’s protest was significantly smaller than last week’s.

Earlier in the day, a protester’s hand was ripped apart during violent clashes in Paris as demonstrators tried to storm the French National Assembly in a 13th consecutive week of unrest.

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4:20 p.m.

A French yellow vest protester’s hand has been ripped apart during violent clashes in Paris as demonstrators tried to storm the French National Assembly in a 13th consecutive week of unrest.

Police said the injured protester lost four fingers as police swooped in to stop protesters from breaching the parliament’s exterior. Police could not confirm French media reports that the demonstrator’s hand was blown up by a grenade used to disperse unruly crowds.

As scuffles broke out in front of the National Assembly and French police responded with tear gas, paramedics huddled around the injured protester.

Police said 17 demonstrators had been arrested in the clashes.

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3:40 p.m.

A French yellow vest protester has sustained a serious hand injury during violent clashes with police on the streets of Paris in a 13th consecutive week of demonstrations.

Paramedics huddled around the injured protester near the gates of the National Assembly as they provided emergency treatment. The man was then taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police said about 10 demonstrators have been arrested so far as scuffles broke out between protesters and police near the Champs-Elysees avenue and the National Assembly.

Police used batons and fired tear gas in Paris to disperse demonstrators, some of whom threw debris at riot police in front of the National Assembly.

The French yellow vest protests began in November to protest what they see as economic injustice.

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2:45 p.m.

French police say a yellow vest protester has sustained a hand injury in Paris as the 13th consecutive weekend of demonstrations grew tense.

Police say the demonstrator, whose condition isn’t currently known, is being treated Saturday by emergency workers.

Police said that about 10 demonstrators have been arrested so far as scuffles broke out between protesters and police near the Champs-Elysees avenue and the National Assembly.

Police fired tear gas in Paris to disperse demonstrators, some of whom threw debris at riot police hunkered down in front of the National Assembly.

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1:15 p.m.

Scuffles have broken out between French yellow vest protesters and police in a 13th consecutive weekend of demonstrations.

Police fired tear gas in Paris to disperse demonstrators near the Champs-Elysees avenue on Saturday afternoon as scuffles broke out.

The protest in the French capital has passed the National Assembly and will end up near the Eiffel Tower.

The yellow vest activists, who have brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets over the past three months, are now trying to achieve electoral success but the movement is politically divided and has no appointed leader.

President Emmanuel Macron - the target of many demonstrators’ anger - seems to be clawing back support as he tries to quell the movement with a national political debate. Recent polls show Macron’s approval ratings rising.