Yellow vest protests held in Montenegro

By Adel Omeragic and Sanela Crnovrsanin

PODGORICA

Hundreds in Montenegrin capital Podgorica wearing yellow vests protested the government over an arrested lawmaker.

The yellow vests attended the demonstration held by a pro-opposition group, who were protesting the arrest of Nebojsa Medojevic.

The protesters gathered in front of the Montenegrin Parliament to walk towards the president's office and government building.

Many opposition leaders and Democratic Front (DF) lawmakers joined the protests.

One of the DF leaders Andrija Mandic said in a speech that life of Medojevic is risked, who was sentenced to two months prison term.

Mandic said that they would be able to change Montenegro when they compared the attendee figure of Podgorica protest with the ones in Paris.

He added that they have to be brave and determined.

Mandic called on people, who were absent in Sunday's protests, for attending the next protests to be held on Wednesday.

The demonstration ended peacefully after speeches.

Since Nov. 17 thousands of protesters -- wearing yellow vests -- have been gathering in major French cities including Paris to protest President Emmanuel Macron's controversial fuel tax hikes and the deteriorating economic situation.

The demonstrators, who generally live in rural areas due to high rents in the cities, have called on Macron to cut fuel taxes and ease their economic difficulties.

According to a recent survey, 84 percent of the French people -- mostly from the middle-income group -- support the protests.

Fuel prices in France have risen more than 20 percent this year.

This movement spread to Belgium and in a short time.