EUROPE'S YELLOW VESTS

FRENCH 'yellow vests' spark copycats and fake abroad : The ''yellow vest'' revolt in France over the high cost of living has sparked copycat protests abroad - as well a swarm of fake reports.

AFP's fact-checking service sorts the real from the imagined.

Copycat protests : The month-long French demonstrations, which have led to repeated rioting in Paris, have inspired protests in a number of mostly European countries.

On December 8, some 400 people were detained in Brussels after protesters wearing high visibility fluorescent vests briefly clashed with police..

Others reportedly blocked a highway linking Brussels to the town of of Rekkem in Flanders, near the French border to protest high taxes.

On the same day in the Netherlands, ''yellow vests'' turned out in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague to protest the high cost of living, but they were few in number and the demonstrations were peaceful.

In Hungary, some of those protesting a new law, which increases the amount of overtime employers can require of workers, also dressed up in  yellow vests on December 12 outside parliament.

And in Poland, farmers wearing the distinctive jackets on Wednesday blocked a motorway to demand government compensation for a swine flu outbreak.

In Germany both Alice Wedel, one of the founders of the  right-wing  Alternative for Germany party, and the radical left-wing Die Linke party have expressed support for the  French movement.

And some yellow vests were seen among a 1,000 strong crowd of  right-wing  demonstrators when the Pegida anti-migrant movement when it held a rally on December 1 in Berlin.

In Belgrade a handful of opposition members of parliament also donned yellow on December 4 to protest petrol price increases.

The honor and serving of the operational research on protests and attire and tactics, continues. [Agencies]