Thousands of protesters have marched through Paris to condemn violence in the "yellow vest" movement that has rocked France for weeks.
About 10,000 people turned out for Sunday's counter-demonstration, a day after an 11th consecutive Saturday of "yellow vest" demonstrations across France against President Emmanuel Macron.
Laurent Soulie (centre) founded the The Blue Vest movement. Source: AAP
Participants, some wearing red scarves after the name of the counter-movement, displayed slogans like "stop the violence" and "hands off my Republic" in a peaceful afternoon procession in eastern Paris that ended in Bastille square.
John Christophe Werner from the southern French region of Vaucluse founded the Red Scarves movement on Facebook. He told regional newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré that the yellow vest protesters are punishing citizens by making it difficult to navigate the country.
"Today, a lot of people are scared to leave their houses, to use the roads, to drive to their jobs," he said.
Legal expert Laurent Segnis started the blue vest movement, using Twitter to criticise the "the blockades, the violence, the unjustified restrictions on the freedom to come and go as you please, the attacks on freedom of opinion (if you’re not a Yellow Vest, you’re wealthy, or worse)".
Saturday's "yellow vest" march in the capital also ended at Bastille, where small groups confronted police and a demonstrator suffered an eye wound that inflamed a debate about whether the authorities are using excessive force.
The "yellow vest" protesters, who wear the fluorescent jackets French motorists are required to have in their cars, took to the streets in November to oppose a fuel tax rise.
The procession joined the Republic Square in a large police escort for fear of clashes with the yellow vests who were kept out of the demonstration. Source: AAP
Their movement then developed into a broader revolt against the government.
Around 69,000 people attended the latest Saturday protests, including 4,000 in Paris, a lower turnout than the previous weekend, the interior minister said.
However, the injury to well-known activist Jerome Rodrigues attracted more television coverage on Sunday than the "red scarves" march, as it heightened debate over use by police of dispersal grenades and so-called "flashball" pellet guns.
