'Yellow vest' protests proceed to UN amid outrage over police violence

At least 600 French "yellow vest" protesters gathered in Geneva outside United Nations European headquarters on Wednesday to denounce alleged French police brutality against the movement.

The U.N. Human Rights Council opens its main four-week annual session in the Swiss city on Monday. The protests started in November over fuel taxes and the high cost of living and morphed into a more general revolt against President Emmanuel Macron and a government they see as out of touch. Nicolas Mollier, an organiser, said the protesters hoped to bring their case to the attention of a U.N. official.

"France must be held accountable," he told Reuters Television. "Today, there are victims who have lost an eye, victims who have had their hands were blown away or their feet." "Yellow vest" actions have at times been marred by violence, and according to a survey published last week by pollster Elabe, 56 per cent of French people want the weekly protests to end.