Mobilization of October 17: The CRS 8, specialized in the fight against urban violence, launched in Paris

It is a unit specialized in the fight against urban violence. CRS 8 was triggered this Saturday to lend a hand to the police in Paris, while hundreds of thousands of demonstrators mobilized in the streets.

This reinforcement comes as the police face small, mobile and violent groups trying to approach places of power in the capital. This was the case at the end of the afternoon, particularly in the Madeleine district, close to the Elysée and the National Assembly.

The CRS8 is currently intervening, late in the afternoon, in the Les Halles sector, according to the police headquarters. The situation was quite chaotic in the center of Paris, including scenes of looting or intrusions into businesses, according to journalists from Agence France-Presse.

“Great mobility of the processions was anticipated and therefore an agile system with companies which systematically intervene to restore calm,” argued the police headquarters.