Key Yellow Vest activist to face trial next month

<p>By Yusuf Ozcan</p> <p>PARIS (AA) – One of the leading figures of France’s Yellow Vest movement will face trial on Feb. 15 for organizing an “unauthorized protest&quot;, the Paris prosecutors’ office said Thursday.</p> <p>Eric Drouet — a 33-year-old truck driver — was detained by police late Wednesday for organizing a demonstration in central Paris without declaring it, it said. </p> <p>Following his release Thursday, Drouet told reporters his arrest was politically motivated. </p> <p>He said he could not understand why high-ranking officials were present at his interrogation, adding the demonstrations will continue.</p> <p>French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire defended Drouet's arrest, telling France Inter radio Thursday that &quot;it's called respecting the rule of law&quot;.</p> <p>&quot;It's normal that when you break the laws of the republic, you face the consequences,&quot; he said.</p> <p>Drouet’s lawyer, Kheops Lara, called his arrest “totally unjustified and arbitrary”.</p> <p>Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the leftist France Unbowed party, also criticized Drouet's detention.</p> <p>&quot;Abuse of power. A politicized police targeting and harassing the leaders of the Yellow Vest movement,&quot; he wrote on Twitter.</p> <p>Around 50 activists had gathered late Wednesday in Concorde Square near the Champs-Elysees avenue to commemorate the 10 people who had died during the months of protests in France as well as the injured.</p> <p>Shortly after, police detained Drouet along with a group of activists on the grounds of an &quot;unauthorized&quot; demonstration.</p> <p>Drouet was also detained during a Yellow Vest demonstration on Dec. 22.</p> <p>In France, the penalty for organizing a demonstration without official permission is up to six months in prison and a €7,500 ($8,545) fine.</p> <p>- Yellow Vest Protests</p> <p>The Yellow Vest protests, which began in reaction to controversial fuel tax hikes introduced by French President Emmanuel Macron and evolved into an uprising against him, are continuing despite a call by the government to halt them.</p> <p>Since Nov. 17, thousands of protesters wearing bright yellow vests — dubbed the Yellow Vests — have gathered in major French cities, including the capital Paris, to protest the tax hikes and the deteriorating economic situation in France.</p> <p>In mid-December, under pressure from weeks of protests, Macron announced an increase in the minimum wage and also scuttled the fuel tax hikes.</p> <p>At least 10 people have been killed and more than a thousand others wounded in the protests, while over 4,500 have been detained.</p><br>