LISBON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The yellow vest protests in capital Lisbon and several other cities in Portugal ended with low turnout and three detentions on Friday.

The protesters began to flock to the Marques de Pombal square in downtown Lisbon in early morning rush hours but they failed in blocking the traffic. The protest ended in the evening with three arrests and no violence.

The protests, inspired by the similar movement in Paris, also took place in the cities of Porto, Braga and Coimbra in the north of the country.

The protesters demand that the Socialist government headed by Prime Minister Antonio Costa reduce the taxes and fuel prices, and further raise the minimum wages to 700 euros and unemployment subsidies.

The Portuguese government approved on Thursday the increase of the country's national minimum wage to 600 euros as of Jan. 1 next year.

The Socialist government took power in November 2015 and has increased annually the minimum wage from 505 euros in 2015 to 580 euros in 2018.