PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron will deliver an ‘I’m Sorry’ TV address and announce further tax cuts following more than 1,700 arrests during nationwide rioting in France.

Cities including Paris and Bordeaux exploded into violence on Saturday, during the fourth weekend of demonstrations in a row by Yellow Vest protesters.

Paris was on lockdown yesterday as 1,000 protesters were arrested and 135 were injured during riots in a ‘Day of rage’ across the country.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the violence in Paris was”under control” by 6pm local time, despite scattered tensions.

Mr Macron remained holed-up in the Elysee Palace in Paris as buildings were set on fire, shops were looted, and police were attacked.

Armoured cars, water canon and thousands of rounds of tear gas were used against the Yellow Vest fuel price rise opponents, who are named after the high visibility jackets all motorists carry in France.

They have been joined by agitators from the Left and Right, as well as criminal groups determined to cause mayhem.

Today, the highly influential Parisien newspaper reported that “After eight days of silence, the head of state” has told supporters”he will speak on Monday night on television to respond to the angry French.”

Mr Macron will not appear “empty hand” but will instead make further concessions in regards to tax.

He has already been pilloried for abandoning green taxes on diesel and petrol in response to the early rioting, but is set to cave in further.

“There are too many taxes, too many taxes, too much taxation in this country,” Mr Macron told MPs in a private meeting on Friday, Le Parisien reports.

Mr Macron’s “mea culpa” included him admitting that he appeared too arrogant and out-of-touch, and he will address such concerns on a national TV channel.

There were more than 1,000 arrests in Paris alone on Saturday, while the national figure was 1,723.

Thousands chanted “Macron resign” and “police everywhere – justice nowhere” as they rampaged throughout the centre of the French capital.

Weapons used by the thugs included Molotov Cocktails, gas cannisters, flash ball guns, baseball bats, and petanque balls used as missiles.

Most tourist attractions were shut, including the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, which was ransacked during riots a week ago.

Gendarmes were supported by 12 gendarmerie Berliet VXB-170 armoured cars, complete with 7.62mm machine guns and a 56mm Alsetex Cougar grenade launchers.

The vehicles are designed to break down barricades and to advance on crowds during riots.

A total of 106 out of 109 squads of gendarmes mobilised across France, along with other paramilitaries groups such as the Republican Security Companies (CRS).

The Yellow Vests said their protests would continue indefinitely as they campaign for even more tax reductions.

There have been calls for a State of Emergency to be announced, and for the Army to take to the streets.

The current spate of Paris violence is considered the worst since the Spring of 1968, when President Charles de Gaulle’s government feared a full-blown revolution.

The independent Mr Macron, leader of the Republic On The Move party, won the French presidential election in a landslide in 2017, but he is now dubbed the “President of the Rich” with polls showing his popularity rating down to just 18 per cent.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner described yesterday’s clashes as “totally unacceptable”, and said 135 people were injured on Saturday, including 17 cops.

“Exceptional” security measures allowed police to put nearly 1,000 people in custody.

Casataner estimated there were 10,000 yellow vest protesters in Paris alone, among some 125,000 protesters around the country.

Protesters smashed store windows, set fires around Paris, and clashed with police, who fired tear gas throughout the day in the French capital.

Earlier in the day “Yellow vest” demonstrators squared up to thousands of cops on the Champs Eylsees boulevard.

Dozens of French riot police backed by an armoured vehicle charged the protesters, firing tear gas beneath the sparkling lights of one of the world’s most elegant avenues.

Demonstrators in yellow vests carried a huge banner calling for President Emmanuel Macron to resign and for France to hold an emergency election.

Protesters appeared to throw flares as police responded with tear gas.

The confrontation came after a day of tension across Paris on Saturday and unprecedented police efforts to prevent new violence.

Major tourist attractions were shut down including the Eiffel Tower as 90,000 riot cops tried to tackle the ferocious battle for the streets.

Dramatic pictures showed French cops hurling tear gas canisters and wielding water cannons as they tried to calm groups angry at the high cost of living under President Emmanuel Macron, and a proposed fuel price hike.

Protesters chanted “Macron Resign” and “Police Everywhere – Justice Nowhere” as they were joined by extremists from the far Right and the ultra-Left.

The violence has spilled from France into Belgium and the Netherlands today, as around 700 people have been detained across Europe.

Reports say 100 have been pulled from protests in Brussels for carrying fireworks or protective clothing, while in Amsterdam two people were taken in by police.

In the French capital fires have been lit, cars turned over and shop windows smashed, while police arrested just over 600 people in Paris by 2pm.

Potential weapons including gas cannisters, flash ball guns, baseball bats, and petanque balls have been confiscated on the so-called “Act 4” day of action.

A police source said: “477 have been placed under formal investigation, out of a total of more than 600 arrests.”

The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Musee d’Orsay and the Centre Pompidou were forced to shut as the violence continued.

Cops said there were around 1,500 protesters on the Champs Elysees boulevard alone.

Police were using snatch squads to seize troublemakers and were more mobile around the city, BBC reports.

Authorities in the capital were taking these steps to avoid a repeat of last Saturday’s chaos when rioters torched cars on the Champs Elysees boulevard and defaced the Arc de Triomphe monument with graffiti.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on French television: “We will do all we can so that today can be a day without violence, so that the dialogue that we started this week can continue in the best possible circumstances.”

US President Donald Trump appeared to blame the Paris Agreement – which he took America out of in 2016 – for the rioting.

In a series of tweets he said the agreement “isn’t working out so well for Paris”, adding “people do not want to pay large sums of money, much to third word countries (that are questionable run) in order to maybe protect the environment”.

Culture Minister Franck Riester told RTL radio: “We cannot take the risk when we know the threat”, adding that far-right and far-left agitators were planning to hijack rallies by “yellow vest” protesters in the French capital.

Many shops were boarded up to avoid looting and street furniture and construction site materials have been removed to stop protesters from throwing them.

Interior minister Christophe Castaner had warned of “ultra-violent” people joining the riots, just days after tax offices across the country were stormed and petrol-bombed – with one confrontation leading to a protester ramming his tractor into a local government building.

He said the riots had “created a monster” and claimed “radical elements” had infiltrated the movement.

The first attack was in the southern town of Perpignan, when officials were forced to flee their posts after a rioter vowed to “come back with my gun”.

And 200 tax inspectors in Poiters were escorted out of their building by a battalion of riot cops as protesters yelled “collaborators”.

On Friday a spokesman for President Macron said: “We have reason to fear a great violence this Saturday.”

The Yellow Vest group is named after the high visibility jackets that all motorists have to carry in France and originally called for a reduction in the price of diesel and petrol.

The once-popular President Macron is now described as “The President of the Rich”, and widely disliked among the French public.

Last week horrifying images of French police beating up protesters have emerged – inflaming an already tense situation.

Mr Macron’s prime minister, Edouard Philippe, said: “What is at stake is the safety of the French people and our institutions. I call for responsibility.

“All the actors in the public debate – politicians, union leaders, journalists and citizens – will be accountable for their statements in the coming days.”

Yesterday marked the fourth day of disturbances in a row, leading it to be dubbed “Act 4.”

ops were forced to round up 153 baby-faced rioters at a single school – with officers forcing kids as young as 12 being to kneel in silence against a wall.

Shocking footage showed the officers arresting pupils at the lawless Saint-Exupéry school on the outskirts of Paris.