Arc de Triomphe to open after restorations post 'yellow vest' protests

The Arc de Triomphe will reopen on December 12 following restoration work which was completed after the monument was vandalised during the 'yellow vest' protests.

Several iconic landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, were closed to the public as around 8,000 police personnel were deployed in Paris alone amid fears of further violence in the French capital.

"The Arc de Triomphe is closed until December 11. The opening will take place on December 12, the working hours will be the same as usual," Sputnik quoted the French Center of National Monuments as stating.

The 'yellow vest' protests, which have now spread to Belgium and the Netherlands, have been raging in France since mid-November against the hike in fuel prices.

French President Emmanuel Macron rolled out the "economic and social emergency plan" in the wake of the protests, wherein he increased the minimum wage of the people by 100 euros per month as of January 2019, without giving any benefit to the employers. He also revised the tax rates for people who work overtime hours during a televised speech on December 10 (local time).

Macron had earlier scrapped the hike in fuel prices, but protestors had stated that it would not be enough to stop further protests.

Protestors had vandalised the Arc de Triomphe in protests, which have seen hundreds of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets across the nation. Calls for Macron's resignation were scribbled on the sides of the walls by protestors.

The French President had slammed the violent demonstrators from bringing life to a standstill in France.