Mobilization of October 17: 1,200 arrests, 150 police officers injured… Lecornu calls for “choosing sides”

An outbreak of violence of rare intensity across the country. Sébastien Lecornu announced on Saturday evening the arrest of 1,200 people and 150 injured among the police and gendarmes on the sidelines of the demonstrations of October 17. The Prime Minister considered it a “miracle that the toll was not higher”.

After the day of mobilizations punctuated by violence, “it is now the time to choose your side”, launched the Prime Minister to La France insoumise, with which he has increased the number of battles since the start of the high school mobilization.

“Either we are in the camp of the Republic and therefore of the police, those who protect property and people and who apply the laws, or we are on the side of the rioters,” he continued, during a visit to the police mobilized in the center of Paris, believing that he had reached a “point of no return”.

Mayors of big cities demand accountability

Furthermore, the mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon asked to be received by Sébastien Lecornu at the start of the week, “faced with the extent of the damage and the seriousness of the situation” linked to the violence, damage and looting committed on Saturday in their cities.

“We demand that a precise diagnosis be established, explaining the chain of events that led to this situation. This cannot and must not happen again,” write in a joint statement Emmanuel Grégoire (PS), Benoît Payan (DVG) and Grégory Doucet (ecologist). The three city councilors say they are involving all the “mayors of the affected towns” in their approach.