03 Jan 2019; AFP: One of the leaders of the "yellow vest" demonstrations in France was detained by police in Paris, signalling a harder line from the government that sparked a wave of criticism from opponents on Thursday.
Eric Drouet -- who already faces a trial for carrying a weapon at a previous demonstration -- was arrested late Wednesday for organising an unauthorised protest on the Champs-Elysees avenue. He was released Thursday afternoon.
Speaking to reporters after his release, Drouet said he had been on his way to a restaurant with four others when they were picked up.
"I wasn't wearing a yellow vest, just walking on the pavement," he said, calling the arrest "incomprehensible".
"I'm not the yellow vests' representative. With or without me, it will continue", he said, speaking of the protests.
"It wasn't a call for a demonstration," he added, denying accusations that he had called for a rally on the Champs-Elysees Wednesday evening while failing to inform authorities in advance of the protest.
"Everything that has happened here, it's political, " he said, a view echoed by his lawyer Lara Kheops, who called his arrest "totally arbitrary".
Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire defended the arrest, saying: "It's called respecting the rule of law."
"It's normal that when you break the laws of the republic, you face the consequences," he added.
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