Rallies and demonstrations are announced throughout France on Saturday on the occasion of the social mobilization day of October 17. The movement brings together different angers and demands: former yellow vests mobilized against the high cost of living, high school students, students, climate activists and even farmers. Some 550,000 people demonstrated in France, including 110,000 in Paris according to the Minister of the Interior, and 800,000 according to the organizers. At 8 p.m., 400 arrests took place in France, announced the Ministry of the Interior. The police made 195 arrests in Paris at 4 p.m., "including only 13 minors and only 1 residing in Paris", indicates the Paris prosecutor's office in a press release sent to Agence Radio France on Saturday.
The town halls of Marseille and Lille briefly invested
In Paris, two routes are planned at the beginning of the afternoon departing from Place de la République: the procession of students will head towards Place de la Nation, that of yellow vests and unions will go towards Place de Clichy. But from mid-morning, “two wild processions” took place, according to the Paris police headquarters. “The first, a union gathering, made up of around a hundred people, was formed in the Gare du Nord sector before reaching rue du Faubourg Saint Denis. A second, made up of high school students and of a similar size, started on rue de Rennes,” writes the police headquarters.
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The police made 133 arrests in Paris, mainly for "groups with a view to committing violence or damage", according to a report from the police headquarters at 2 p.m. “Several wild processions seek to converge towards places of power,” Agence Radio France learned from those close to the Ministry of the Interior. The police systematically intervene “to prevent these movements and secure institutional sites”, continues the same source. Law enforcement remains strongly mobilized to contain “violent groups, protect public buildings and prevent looting”.
In Marseille, several groups of demonstrators were noted by the police headquarters. A municipal police station was damaged "apart from the undeclared gatherings of today", indicates the police headquarters. Around fifty yellow vests gathered on Saturday morning in the Estaque district, in the north of the city. A demonstration is planned for the beginning of the afternoon in the Old Port.
Numerous incidents took place in the Phocaean city, such as the brief intrusion of around ten individuals into the town hall. Demonstrators march near the Marseille Saint-Charles station, closed for security reasons according to a Radio France journalist.
In Lille (North) demonstrators forced the doors of the town hall, notes an AFP journalist on site. Glass doors were broken and part of the premises ransacked. Violent clashes between several hundred demonstrators and CRS have also taken place since 2:00 p.m. in the city center of Lille, on the sidelines of a peaceful procession.
In Limoges, a fire hit the town hall, on the sidelines of the procession organized to demonstrate against the high cost of living.
In Lyon, a branch of the tourist office burned
In Lyon, a branch of the tourist office located on Place Bellecour in the 2nd arrondissement was set on fire, on the sidelines of the demonstration on October 17 on Saturday, noted the Radio France journalist on site. “The building is burning,” he said. The thugs also broke windows on the facade of the building. On this Place Bellecour, several thousand demonstrators gathered, but the gathering was not authorized by the prefecture. “The police are undertaking maneuvers to disperse the violent groups” while the firefighters cannot access the fire at the tourist office branch, specifies the Rhône prefecture. The police also used a water cannon against demonstrators and hooded individuals, noted an AFP journalist on site.
In Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), scuffles took place, with jets launched in the direction of the police, according to the prefecture. The prefecture and the public transport network of the Rennes metropolis, STAR, indicate major traffic disruptions to the west of the Breton capital. At midday, the prefecture reported 17 arrests. Pavements were thrown in the direction of the police who used tear gas to disperse the crowd in the parking lot of a Leclerc in the Cleunay district, adds the prefecture. The procession currently numbers 10,000 people.
In Brest (Finistère), several thousand demonstrators marched, according to ICI Breizh Izel. The organizers called for the convergence of anger. Among the demonstrators: high school students, students, unions (CGT, Peasant Confederation, Lutte Ouvrière), political parties (Place publique, Les Verts), yellow vests, caregivers. Some carried the “Gwenn ha du”, the Breton flag.
In Angoulême (Charente), nearly 4,000 people mobilized on Saturday morning. The prefecture has decided to close access to the RN10 around Angoulême. "The demonstrators are now gathering around the Angoulême Hospital Center. In view of the ongoing disruptions, the RN 10 is notably closed between the 'des Bergailles' sector, south of Angoulême, and the RN 10 / RN 141 interchange in Saint-Yrieix-sur-Charente", specifies the Charente prefecture.
In La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime), between 2,000 and 3,000 demonstrators marched towards the ring road towards the Île de Ré bridge, reports ICI La Rochelle.
In Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), nearly 2,000 yellow vests, unions and members of a collective of undocumented immigrants gathered.
A portion of the A10 motorway invaded near the Tours exit
Near Le Mans (Sarthe), the mobilization is taking place peacefully with the presence of high school students, farmers and young workers.
In Tours (Indre-et-Loire), several thousand people gathered at Place Velpeau, according to the ICI Touraine journalist on site. Among them are many young people but also yellow vests. A nearby gas station was occupied by protesters, who wrapped the pumps with black tape to prevent their use. An inscription “Stop racketeering” was sprayed in white letters. Demonstrators also invaded the A10 motorway at the Tours center exit, on the outskirts of the city, and blocked access to the tracks. A police car was targeted. The demonstrators left the A10 around 12:45 p.m., specifies ICI Touraine.
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In Poitiers, the Sciences Po campus was blocked on Saturday morning by around twenty people, noted ICI Poitou.
In Bordeaux, the demonstration quickly degenerated on Saturday afternoon into clashes between radical individuals and the police, according to AFP journalists on site, with the throwing of projectiles and the firing of tear gas grenades, in the shopping streets of the city center surrounding the Place de la Bourse on the banks of the Garonne. Individuals also entered the premises of the chamber of commerce and industry, and the prefectural residence was "ransacked", according to the authorities.
A protester seriously injured in the hand in Saint-Etienne
In Saint-Etienne, a young man in his twenties was seriously injured in one hand this Saturday afternoon in Saint-Etienne on the sidelines of the mobilization of October 17, Saint-Etienne Loire learns HERE from the Loire prefecture. The young man was transported to the city's university hospital. The accident took place in front of a shopping center, where for an hour, demonstrators faced the police: tear gas on one side against mortar fire and fireworks on the other.
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Near Grenoble (Isère), traffic is disrupted after a blockage of the A480 motorway and the closure of an entrance and exit to the town, reports ICI Isère. Yellow vests gathered at 8:30 a.m. at the Catane bridge, on Boulevard Joseph-Vallier. A gas station in the area was also blocked. “Damage to the town hall” was also noted.
The Chambéry ring road (Savoie) is cut off to traffic on the sidelines of the demonstration this Saturday, October 17 by several thousand demonstrators, according to ICI Pays de Savoie.
In Avignon, there was an “intrusion into the courtyard of the Vaucluse prefecture”, according to AFP.
In Montpellier (Hérault), “the ongoing demonstration in the city center brings together between 12,000 and 17,000 people, including high-risk demonstrators, dressed in black, hooded, equipped with mortar fire and equipment that could be used as weapons by destination,” says the Hérault prefecture.
