The article is big on pictures and small on the exact reason for the riots.
Started out as a gas tax increase protest (substantial tax increase, global-warming related dontcha-know!) by the middle-class “little guy” working stiff...police got a little heavy handed then the Antifa types joined in...now chaos.
“Some 280,000 yellow vests took part in a first day of protest on November 17th, blocking roundabouts and motorway toll booths nationwide. Less than half that number took to the streets on November 24th, when a protest in Paris took a particularly violent turn after troublemakers infiltrated the event.”
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/11/27/what-and-who-are-frances-gilets-jaunes