Paris court slaps fine on Yellow Vest protest convict

A Paris Court on Friday imposed a fine of USD 2,240 on a leader of the Yellow Vest protests for organising two unauthorised protests.

Eric Drouet, one of the initiators of the Paris's worst protest in decades which brought the country's capital to halt, was twice detained by law enforcement agencies since the beginning of the year.

"A fine of 2,000 thousand euros, of which 500 euros is suspended", Sputnik quoted Drouet's lawyer Kheops Lara as saying.

"This is fine, which may seem almost insignificant... But it still remains a criminal sentence. I think that this decision will damage the image of France and the French justice", she added.

Refusing to die down, the protest has entered week 19. Last week, over 40,000 people took to the streets across France.

The Yellow Vest protests started in November last year, against the Macron-led government's proposed taxes on fuel. While Macron scrapped the fuel price hike, the protesters continue to agitate demanding 20 per cent hike in minimum wages, equal pay for men and women, tax reform, development of public services and just environmental reforms.