Demonstrations: evening of clashes in Paris, 103 arrests – France

Numerous violence and clashes with the police punctuated the demonstration against the pension reform on Thursday in Paris, before turning into “wild” processions for much of the evening. 103 people were arrested, in particular for carrying prohibited weapons and participating in a group to commit damage and violence, said the police headquarters.

140 fires, 1,500 “breakers”

After the arrival of the procession around 6 p.m., Place de l’Opéra, small groups of demonstrators walked for several hours in the streets of the capital, setting fire to dozens of trash cans and rubbish on their way.

At 10 p.m., 140 fires had been recorded in the capital, including “about forty” being extinguished, said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who was speaking from the police headquarters.

Around 11 p.m., a gradual return to calm began in Paris, even if clusters of several hundred demonstrators were still present between République and Bastille. Some “1,500 thugs” who came to “break cops and public buildings” were present in Paris on Thursday, the minister said.

Throughout the parade, starting from the Place de la Bastille, these people, located at the head of the procession, dressed in black and equipped with masks and glasses, degraded several mini-markets, fast food restaurants and banks. They threw numerous cobblestones, bottles and at least one incendiary projectile at the security forces, who repeatedly used tear gas and led charges with the aim of “dislocating the block”.

Garbage cans and scooters set on fire

Several trash cans and scooters were also set on fire. An “incendiary device” was launched in a bank on boulevard de Bonne-Nouvelle and a person was arrested for the looting of a jewelry store, said the police headquarters.

The incidents remained localized “in the pre-procession”, specified the police headquarters, adding that the rest of the procession had been able to walk “normally”, except at the end of the parade, where it was blocked some time before arriving. Place de l’Opéra where many incidents took place.

At least one injured protester was taken care of by firefighters, noted an AFP journalist. And at least one police officer was injured after being shot in the head, according to a police source. He is “conscious and has been treated for treatment”, said the prefecture.

During this 9th day of inter-union mobilization against the pension reform, participation broke a record in Paris, with 119,000 demonstrators, according to the Ministry of the Interior. The CGT counted 800,000 demonstrators in the capital, the firm Occurrence – which carried out a count for a collective of media including AFP – “at least 83,000”.