Police fire tear gas as new French demonstrations kick off

French police started firing tear gas at protesters Saturday as they stepped up security in major cities, aiming to prevent a repeat of rioting a week ago, on a day of fresh nationwide demonstrations over the high cost of living. Police in the southeast city of Lyon fired tear gas to disperse some 150 protesters near the city centre — where demonstrations had been banned — when they briefly tried to block a road, an AFP journalist saw. Elsewhere, authorities and rattled shopkeepers geared up for potential new street violence. Near Paris’s Bastille neighbourhood, a clothing store had removed…