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30 arrested in Paris protests against new security bill

Protesters hold signs against France's global security law during a protest Saturday in a street between Porte des Lilas and Gambetta square, in Paris. Photo by Mohammed Badra/EPA-EFE
Protesters hold signs against France's global security law during a protest Saturday in a street between Porte des Lilas and Gambetta square, in Paris. Photo by Mohammed Badra/EPA-EFE

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Paris police arrested 30 people attending a Saturday protest against a new security bill critics say would curb civil liberties.

French newspaper Le Parisien reported there were clashes between police and participants, and acts of vandalism.

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"Thank you to the police forces mobilized today, sometimes in the face of very violent individuals," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted.

Thousands demonstrated in Paris against plans for the new global security draft law that would make it a crime to film or take photos of police with malevolent intent. Unions also demonstrated against planned layoffs and police violence.

The government has accepted a rewrite of Article 24 of the Global Security Act, which critics say undermines "the freedom of the press, the freedom of expression and the freedom to demonstrate."

Some protesters wore yellow vests.

The so-called yellow vest protests, named after high-visibility yellow vests French drivers must carry in their vehicles, began in November 2018 over rising fuel prices, taxes, and cost of living, and morphed into larger anti-government protests.

More than 90 rallies were planned across France on Saturday.

Demonstrations in Marseille paid tribute to Zineb Redouane, an octogenarian who died two years ago a day after she was hit by a tear gas grenade on the sidelines of a yellow vest protest.

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The new security bill similarly sparked protests and clashes with French police earlier this week.

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