Violence erupts during French May Day protests
Posted: Tue May 02, 2023 5:46 am
Violence erupts during French May Day protests
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/1 ... y-protests
Nearly 300 protesters arrested as more than 100 police officers wounded during protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform.
Nearly 300 protesters have been arrested and dozens of police officers were wounded after rioting broke out during May Day protests in France against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform.
At least 108 police were wounded, 25 in the capital, and 291 people detained across France as violence erupted in several cities on the sidelines of the main union-led marches, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters on Monday.
Darmanin added that such a high toll of police wounded was “extremely rare” for a May 1 protest day. He said one policeman who was hit by a Molotov cocktail had received burns to the face and hands but his life was not in danger.
Protesters clashed with security forces across France on Monday as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets for Labour Day to vent their anger against President Macron, who last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes.
Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout nationwide to further rattle Macron, who has been greeted by pot-bashing and jeers as he toured the country seeking to defend the reforms and relaunch his second term.
Video footage from various cities showed massive damage to property. In the capital and other major cities, police used drones for the first time to monitor the situation.
Read more here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/1 ... y-protests
Nearly 300 protesters arrested as more than 100 police officers wounded during protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform.
Nearly 300 protesters have been arrested and dozens of police officers were wounded after rioting broke out during May Day protests in France against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform.
At least 108 police were wounded, 25 in the capital, and 291 people detained across France as violence erupted in several cities on the sidelines of the main union-led marches, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters on Monday.
Darmanin added that such a high toll of police wounded was “extremely rare” for a May 1 protest day. He said one policeman who was hit by a Molotov cocktail had received burns to the face and hands but his life was not in danger.
Protesters clashed with security forces across France on Monday as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets for Labour Day to vent their anger against President Macron, who last month signed a law to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, despite months of strikes.
Unions had been hoping for a vast turnout nationwide to further rattle Macron, who has been greeted by pot-bashing and jeers as he toured the country seeking to defend the reforms and relaunch his second term.
Video footage from various cities showed massive damage to property. In the capital and other major cities, police used drones for the first time to monitor the situation.