More than a hundred police officers were injured today in clashes with demonstrators in France, in the May 1st demonstrations, which led to the arrest of 291 people, indicated the French Government.
Of the 108 police officers injured in the demonstrations on International Workers’ Day, and against the increase in the retirement age, one had serious burns, according to the provisional assessment made to journalists by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who stated that “violence must be condemned all over the world”.
The main incidents took place in the cities of Nantes, Lyon and Angers, but also in the capital, Paris, where groups of demonstrators broke shop windows and banks, set fire to rubbish bins, street furniture and a building under construction near the Place de la Nation.
Gérald Darmanin said he expected perpetrators of attacks against police and property to have “firm sanctions”, highlighting the continued presence of far-left members at protests.
Today, to try to contain incidents, the police have deployed 12,000 officers across France, including 5,000 in Paris.
According to the Government, 782 thousand people participated in the hundreds of demonstrations, of which 112 thousand in Paris.
The General Confederation of Labour, which brings together several unions, responded with a larger membership: 2.3 million demonstrators, including 550,000 in the French capital.
