We begin in France, where hundreds of people have been detained in another weekend of violent protests in central Paris, and at least 135 injured including 17 police officers. The so-called "yellow vest" protests started in response to a fuel tax rise that's since been scrapped by the government. But they've become the outlet for much wider anger about the cost of living. Elena Casas reports from Paris.  

Barricades set afire and shop windows smashed in central Paris but this time, the police were ready for violent troublemakers. Much of the city was on lockdown, with museums, tourist attractions and public transport closed.

ELENA CASAS PARIS "After the security services were criticized over last week's violent scenes, Paris' police radically changed strategy. They searched the bags and cars of protesters arriving at flashpoints, and arrested hundreds of people before they were any reports of violence."

Police had been warning of serious violence for days, dissuading many peaceful protesters from turning out. The government says the "yellow vest" movement is being hijacked by a minority of violent extremists.

EDOUARD PHILIPPE FRENCH PRIME MINISTER "I'd like to thank everyone, politicians, union leaders, citizens, who called for calm, so that those French people who want to express themselves aren't mixed up with those who come to vandalize and fight with the security services."

But many yellow vests say the police response to the protest movement has been too heavy-handed, and it's making them more determined to keep marching.

"I've been involved in this since the beginning, and now the interior minister has tried to stop us from coming, saying that all the yellow vests are vandals - I can't vandalize anything, I'm in a wheelchair. You can't stop me marching in Paris, it's also my city."

"It's the contempt we're treated with that upsets people. There are riot police with orders to charge us and use tear gas. Most of us aren't troublemakers, we're just people trying to defend our rights."

What the yellow vests want is hard to pin down. The government has scrapped the fuel tax that originally triggered protests, but the demonstrators have called for everything from higher taxes on the rich to fresh elections. The movement has no leadership and no political affiliation, but polls show its key complaints - that the cost of living is too high and the president is out of touch - command the support of at least two-thirds of French voters. President Emmanuel Macron is due to answer those concerns in a speech early next week. For now, his government looks caught out by the scale of public anger and scrambling to find a response. Elena Casas, CGTN, Paris.