Protests in France: 5 people injured and more than 30 people arrested

(Baonghean.vn) - On Saturday, November 1, 34 people were arrested in the two cities of Nantes and Toulouse after clashes between protesters and police.

Tensions began to escalate in Toulouse on November 1. Photo: Ulrich Leboeuf

Hundreds of protesters took part in a march against police violence in two major French cities on Saturday. The march followed the death of environmental activist Rémi Fraisse, who was killed by a grenade thrown by police at the Sivens dam six days ago.

A protester in Nantes. Photo: AFP

Hundreds of protesters in both cities began confronting police in the early afternoon. Tensions escalated when some protesters threw objects at police, who responded with tear gas. In Nantes, the mayor of Loire-Atlantique said five people were injured and protesters threw bottles of acid at police. Two police officers were injured when protesters threw bottles of acid at them. One protester was injured by a police baton, and two others suffered leg injuries from grenade fragments. On Saturday evening, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced that 21 people had been arrested in Nantes and 13 in Toulouse. Some politicians expressed their outrage.

Police arrest violent protesters in Toulouse. Photo: Ulrich Leboeuf

According to Le Monde reporters, in the evening, clashes between protesters and police had subsided. However, there were many vandalisms on the streets of the city center such as windows of some buildings were smashed, bank ATMs were vandalized, small fires appeared on the streets... It is known that in some other cities such as Lille, Amiens, Bordeaux, Avignon, Montpellier, Brest and Saint-Brieuc, protests also broke out with about 100 to 200 people. In Dijon, 250 protesters broke many windows and stuck banners on the walls in the city center.

On Sunday, November 2, a sit-in protest organized by the French NGO Nature Environnement will take place at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in memory of Rémi Fraisse. Another silent march will also take place from 12 noon to 2 pm at the Sivens dam construction site.

Chu Thanh -According to LeMonde 1/11