Paris Tear Gas Clashes Follow Over 2,000 Arrests in France Unrest
(MENAFN) Riot police fired tear gas and deployed a water cannon on demonstrators in central Paris on Sunday, just 24 hours after cost-of-living protests across France turned violent and led to more than 2,000 arrests.
Fresh clashes broke out at Place de la Republique after calls to assemble circulated on social media, a Paris daily newspaper reported. Officers detained several people as some protesters threw up barricades. Firefighters moved in to contain a fire on nearby Rue Yves-Toudic.
The Paris police prefecture said officers were sent in to break up the crowd and carry out arrests once tensions first flared.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez raised the national arrest toll to above 2,000 for Saturday’s disturbances, which left more than 600 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters injured. He cautioned that the casualty figure is provisional and said investigators are still working to identify those behind the violence and the extensive damage to businesses.
President Emmanuel Macron will speak to the nation at 8 pm Sunday, the Elysee said. Beforehand, he is due to meet Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and the ministers concerned.
A cross-government crisis meeting led by Lecornu, originally set for Sunday evening, has been pushed back to 10 am Monday.
Saturday’s marches drew trade unions, Yellow Vest collectives, students and farmers. The Interior Ministry counted 550,000 participants nationwide, while the CGT trade union put the figure at nearly 800,000.
One demonstrator died in Paris after suffering cardiorespiratory arrest. Public buildings and businesses were targeted in several cities.
In Limoges, Haute-Vienne Prefect Maurice Barate said the blaze at the historic city hall was nearly out, but almost the entire historic section of the building was destroyed. Lecornu promised state funding, uninterrupted public services and fast-tracked reconstruction procedures for the city.
The Association of Mayors of France has urged residents to gather outside town halls at noon Monday to denounce the attacks on public buildings.
Separately, police and gendarmerie oversight bodies have opened investigations after a minor lost a hand to a grenade during Saturday’s protests in Saint-Etienne, local authorities said.
Fresh clashes broke out at Place de la Republique after calls to assemble circulated on social media, a Paris daily newspaper reported. Officers detained several people as some protesters threw up barricades. Firefighters moved in to contain a fire on nearby Rue Yves-Toudic.
The Paris police prefecture said officers were sent in to break up the crowd and carry out arrests once tensions first flared.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez raised the national arrest toll to above 2,000 for Saturday’s disturbances, which left more than 600 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters injured. He cautioned that the casualty figure is provisional and said investigators are still working to identify those behind the violence and the extensive damage to businesses.
President Emmanuel Macron will speak to the nation at 8 pm Sunday, the Elysee said. Beforehand, he is due to meet Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and the ministers concerned.
A cross-government crisis meeting led by Lecornu, originally set for Sunday evening, has been pushed back to 10 am Monday.
Saturday’s marches drew trade unions, Yellow Vest collectives, students and farmers. The Interior Ministry counted 550,000 participants nationwide, while the CGT trade union put the figure at nearly 800,000.
One demonstrator died in Paris after suffering cardiorespiratory arrest. Public buildings and businesses were targeted in several cities.
In Limoges, Haute-Vienne Prefect Maurice Barate said the blaze at the historic city hall was nearly out, but almost the entire historic section of the building was destroyed. Lecornu promised state funding, uninterrupted public services and fast-tracked reconstruction procedures for the city.
The Association of Mayors of France has urged residents to gather outside town halls at noon Monday to denounce the attacks on public buildings.
Separately, police and gendarmerie oversight bodies have opened investigations after a minor lost a hand to a grenade during Saturday’s protests in Saint-Etienne, local authorities said.
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