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Denis Jacob, secretary general of police union Alternative Police, warned that around 30,000 people are expected to attend demonstrations in the French capital today, for the second weekend of “yellow vest” protests which have brought the nation to a grinding halt. He warned that security forces are concerned far-right and far-left activists may attend the protests to escalate tensions. He said: “We know there are ultra-right and ultra-left infiltrators. You can also expect gangs from the suburbs and ‘black-blocks’.”

We know there are ultra-right and ultra-left infiltrators. You can also expect gangs from the suburbs and ‘black-blocks’

READ MORE: France: Violence flares up as Emmanuel Macron refuses to back down

Around 3,000 police officers have been drafted in to supervise events in Paris today, which will also include a demonstration against sexual violence, and a number of high-profile sporting matches.

Protestors clad in fluorescent yellow jackets - which all motorists in France are obliged to have in their cars - have been blocking highways across the country for over a week by burning barricades and through convoys of slow-moving trucks.

They have also blocked fuel depots, shopping centres and some factories across France.

The unrest has left two dead and 606 people injured in mainland France, the French Interior Ministry said on Thursday. Protests have also spread to French territories abroad, including the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, where cars were set ablaze.