Television images showed several hundred "Yellow Vest" protesters on the Champs-Elysees, after passing through strict police checks.

Last week, the area around the nearby Arc de Troimphe saw violent clashes that left more than 100 people injured.

Some 89,000 members of the security forces have been mobilised around the country, with 8000 in place in the capital, backed up by gendarmerie armoured cars - a first for this protest movement.

Police said said that 32 of those arrested at an earlier point in the morning were being held for questioning.

Many of those arrested were suspected of joining a gathering in order to prepare violence, destruction or vandalism, according to police.

President Emmanuel Macron announced earlier this week that the planned hikes in petrol and diesel taxes, which sparked the protest movement, would be cancelled outright.

But prominent protesters have insisted that they will descend on Paris anyway, speaking of wider demands including broader tax cuts and salary raises.

Authorities are taking no chances after last week's protests saw more than 100 people injured and more than 400 arrested.

The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and several other museums, as well as the Opera and the Paris catacombs will all be closed on Saturday.

Opinion polls have shown widespread public approval for the Yellow Vests, named after the high-visibility safety bibs that have become the symbol and uniform of the movement.

Eric Drouet, one of the initiators of the protests, Friday called on people to protest on the roads and motorways surrounding the metropolis, "where there is nothing to break and nothing to destroy" but where they can "shout out" their anger.

Drouet had earlier in the week suggested protesters wanted to make their way to the Elysee Palace, Macron's heavily-guarded office and official residence.

More than half of football matches in France's top division that were scheduled for Saturday have been cancelled.

Australian Associated Press