PARIS, Dec 4 — Yesterday morning, Ryan Teo’s 25-minute journey to work looked — and smelt — markedly different from usual.
The streets near his office at the 2nd arrondissemont (district) in Paris were strewn with burnt scooters, and in the air, the acrid smell of burnt items still lingered.
This is the aftermath of the worst unrest the French capital has seen since 1968.
Riot police were overrun on Saturday as protesters wreaked havoc in Paris’s fanciest neighbourhoods, torching dozens of cars, looting boutiques and smashing up luxury private homes and cafes.
The “yellow vest” movement began online as an impromptu rebellion against higher fuel prices but soon morphed into a broader outpouring of anger over the squeeze that living costs are putting on middle-class household budgets.
“There are always hooligans making use of situations like these to cause trouble,” said Teo, a 27-year-old game artist who has worked in Paris for about two-and-a-half years.
“Even after winning the World Cup (football tournament earlier this year), people burned cars and looted stores. So I don’t know how much of it is caused by people with a real grievance.”
For 21-year-old Shen Zhaohan, he said that there was the blaring of sirens from ambulances and police cars from morning till night over the weekend.
Shen, an undergraduate at the American University of Paris, said that his university and the Singaporean embassy had alerted him about the incidents.
“I am… concerned about the rising level of violence, as anyone should be, since there hasn’t been a resolution between the French government and the groups involved,” he added.
Veronike Ban, a Singaporean undergraduate at the Sciences Po university, said: “Peaceful protests… are a way of life in French democracy and are respected.
“I do respect the right of the French people to speak out on certain issues, but whenever it turns violent, I feel that’s when it becomes counterproductive.”
She said she would be avoiding Paris for the time being.
The 20-year-old is based in Reimes, a town more than 100km north-east of the capital.
Teo and Shen told TODAY that they would be “mindful” of where they go to in the city and avoid “hot spots” such as the Champs Elysees, among other places.
Shen, who is the president of the Singapore Students’ Association in France, had also contacted his friends in the city to check on their safety.
With the “yellow vest” protestors set to protest again this weekend, Teo believes the government has a tough decision to make.
“If the (French) government gives in to their demands, then this will only occur with higher frequency anytime people are unhappy,” he said.
“If the government takes a tough stance on the issue, the riots may turn even uglier. I hope they find a right balance to their solution.” — TODAY
