“Block everything”: 175,000 protest in France – more than 470 arrests

According to the Interior Ministry, more than 470 people were arrested at the nationwide protest day in France with 175,000 participants. According to the numbers, there were 203 arrests in Paris. Almost 340 people – a good 100 in Paris – were in police custody, it said. According to the CGT union, the protest campaigns gathered about a quarter of a million people.

13 security forces were injured, the French Ministry of the Interior continued to say. There were many fires on public roads and “public order disorders”. The demonstrations had grown up during the day, and numerous radical activists had participated. The situation in Paris and the cities of Nantes in the west and racing and northwest of the country, where there were attacks on security forces, was particularly tense.

There were riots on videos. Media reported several street blocks as well as blockages at high schools and in bus and tram deposits.

In Paris, a central shopping center closed its doors in the afternoon, according to the French media. A fire also damaged the facade of a building. The Parisian prosecutor stated that it could be an unintentional outbreak of a fire in connection with the use of security forces. The public prosecutor initiated an investigation.

The protests under the motto “Let us block everything” (“Bloquons Tout”), especially against the savings plans that had been announced for a long time. It is unclear who is originally behind the call. The protest promotions are decentralized, many different pages want to breathe their anger. Among other things, left-wing, yellow vest groups and unions such as those of the railroaders called for protest. The blockages run two days after the case of the previous center-right government in a question of trust and shortly after the appointment of the previous Minister of Defense Sébastien Lecornu.