FRANCE BREAKING:  PROTESTS ACROSS COUNTRY INVOLVED AT LEAST 66-THOUSAND PROTESTERS 

The government felt good about the pictures coming from the media in Paris where the yellow vests were much less numerous this week.  168 arrests were made in Paris.

It had been suggested that protesting in Paris "was a trap" before December 8th's massive police operation there against protesters.

While today's protest brought some to Paris with the estimate of some 1-thousand, others protested in other locations like Bordeaux where 4,500 protesters gathered and 27 were arrested and 22 injured.

At Saint-Etienne 1,500 protesters with 52 arrests reported.

In Nantes, 1,200 protesters were reported.  16 arrests there with six injuries.

4,500 protesters took to the streets in Toulouse with 30 arrests reported.   Three injuries reported there.

In southern France at Montpellier at least 850 protesters were in evidence, 250 more than last week.

Marseilles saw 2,000 demonstrators in the streets with 16 arrests.

They held up yellow signs supporting the "Citizen Referendum Initiative".  That's the process where 700,000 signatures forces the legislature to draft new laws for a national referendum.

The reports by tonight from across the country were of 66-thousand protesters as opposed to 136-thousand last week, but those figures could be revised upwards like they were last week by Sunday.

There's plenty of passion in the protests and as one sign read at the top of its message pardon my French and you can look for the translation:

"Merde au Regime"

(REVISED AND UPDATED SATURDAY PM)