“We will not give in anything”: Paris, Lille, Bordeaux… Images of the gatherings of elected officials in front of French town halls after the violence of October 17

“Thank you very much for your presence.” On a platform packed with elected officials wearing their tricolor scarves, Emmanuel Grégoire spoke in front of Paris City Hall, like several French mayors this Monday, after two days of national mobilization against the cost of living marked by abuses.

“The Association of Mayors of France has called for a gathering of all the country's mayors to show solidarity with all those affected by the serious events that have gripped our country over the last 48 hours,” continued the Parisian councilor. Emmanuel Grégoire addressed his first thoughts to “direct victims of abuses, attacks on people and attacks on property”. However, he insisted on making a “distinction between the social movement and the temptation of some to want to rot it from the inside”.

“The symbolism is strong”

In Bordeaux, Mayor Thomas Cazenave estimated that this gathering made it possible to “collectively express our support for those who have been targeted”. The councilor affirmed that his Bordeaux residents “were shocked by what they saw”. Thomas Cazenave expressed his support to the prefect. “Attacking the prefectural residence is attacking the Republic itself,” he denounced.

Arnaud Deslandes, mayor of Lille, spoke among many elected officials and in the presence of former mayor Martine Aubry on the steps of the town hall. Thugs entered the place and committed damage on Saturday. “We were all horrified that it was vandalized in this way,” lambasted the councilor. “The material damage is limited but the symbolism is strong,” he said. “If we wanted – with all the agents of the city of Lille – to hold this rally, it was to say that we will not give up anything,” declared the elected official.