France: Hundreds of thousands demonstrate – violence in the evening

Demonstrations

France: Hundreds of thousands demonstrate – violence in the evening

70,000 security forces, water cannons and armored vehicles: France is preparing for a long day of protests. At first things stay quiet in Paris – but that changes in the evening.

After a largely peaceful start to the day of protest in France Tensions increased in the evening. According to the French Interior Ministry, around 410,000 people took part in the nationwide protests, around 110,000 of them in Paris. In the evening, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez spoke of almost 1,000 arrests nationwide. The number will increase as data is merged, he said.

After the serious riots the previous week, Nuñez had previously mobilized a massive contingent of security forces and said: “We are ready.” 70,000 police and gendarmes were to be deployed, water cannons and armored vehicles were at the ready.

In the metropolis of Paris, the demonstration organized by unions, which was moved to the outskirts of the city, was initially quiet. People of all ages took part and expressed their diverse demands, for example for better facilities in schools and lower costs of living.

At the end of the demonstration the situation worsened. Images showed clouds of tear gas and fireworks as well as the use of water cannons, banging noises could be heard in television recordings, and a garbage can was burning.

The police prefecture of Paris stated on Platform X that rioters tried to break into a car dealership at the end of the demonstration there. The rapid intervention of the law enforcement officers prevented this.

Also pictures from other French cities such as Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseilles showed clouds of tear gas and fire. The Interior Ministry reported disruptions to public order in several cities. In Nantes, northwestern France, damage and looting were reported in a shop, the responsible prefecture said. The security forces arrested six people.

In the evening, the Interior Minister declared: “The day is not over yet.” Security precautions remained in place until late into the evening. According to him, numerous lootings were prevented. In addition, according to Nuñez, there were no targeted attacks on public buildings, as there were on October 17th. However, two people were killed in violent riots in Clermont-Ferrand Toulouse seriously injured during police operations.

Meanwhile, the yellow vest movement has already announced new demonstrations for next week. There will be a “3rd act” on October 31st, the organizers of previous events announced on their website. They called for rallies and sit-ins in front of the National Assembly and all town halls in France.

There will also be a protest event next Friday in which kitchen utensils such as pots and pans will be used to make noise – a so-called casserole.

The protest of the Yellow Vests The high cost of living and social injustice kept France on tenterhooks between November 2018 and spring 2019. Its name comes from the fact that many of the demonstrators wore yellow safety vests.