Hundreds of yellow vest protesters march in Paris

For the 17th consecutive weekend French "yellow vests" took to the streets of Paris on Saturday (March 9), protesting on the Champs Elysees before a march through the city.

By lunchtime 7,000 people took part in protests across the country according to interior ministry figures, a slight rise on last week but far short of the almost 300,000 when the movement was at its height.

The protest was led by a group of women, many child care workers wearing pink vests, to mark International Women's Day.

Yellow vests are calling for mass protests on March 16 to coincide with a climate march and the end of the Great Debate, a national listening exercise online and in town halls across the country which President Emmanuel Macron launched in response to the movement.