You may risk arrest if you "come prepared", or don't follow police orders to move on or back off.

During the Yellow Vests protests some people showed up with helmets, gas masks, and home-made shields, then complained that the police were infringing on their right to 'peaceful' protest when they were prevented from joining the demonstration or arrested...

Dress like if you were out for a walk, which you are, and behave in the same way, and the police won't do anything to you.

Are you referring to any of the exquisitely cherry picked videos that were highly edited to convey the militants talking points?

Better yet, are you able to provide a single example that supports your assertion?

> It also does make sense to come protected when the police use dangerous weapons and violent strategies against protests.

That assertion makes absolutely no sense in france, specially as you're referring to one-off protests where activists plan to riot and assault people and destroy property.

There is plenty of journalist who did a good job to report violence also. You can look for articles in 2018 and 2019 mainly.

> That assertion makes absolutely no sense in france, specially as you're referring to one-off protests where activists plan to riot and assault people and destroy property.

You don't know much about what has been happening in France apparently. I'm not talking about the actions of far-right parties to discredit protests or the few people that joins protests just for the fight but people who are protesting in the first place.

The protestors are exposing themselves to be the chair à canon of political movements (which might or might not have ulterior motives)