More than 1,310 arrests in France at Saturday demonstrations

Mais of 1,300 arrests and 75 investigations related to fires is the balance sheet of the Saturday demonstration in France, according to a provisional balance sheet released today by the Ministry of Interior.

The French Ministry of Interior also informs that, in addition to the 1,314 arrests, 53 elements of security forces and looting were injured in 24 shops.

“Several investigations were opened,” the Ministry announced in a press release, without further details or indicating the number of injured demonstrators.

The evening was “calm”, the Ministry underlines, after the social mobilization that gathered between 410,000 and 800,000 people in France, according to the sources.

The demonstrations that mobilized hundreds of thousands of people in France on Saturday dispersed at the beginning of the night, after clashes in a number of cities.

At 21:00 local hours (20:00 hours in Lisbon) there were no reports of disturbances due, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, to the strong police device.

“Thanks to the intervention of the forces of the order, numerous lootings (e) were avoided, no targeted attacks, such as those of October 17, against public buildings, whether municipal councils, public buildings or police stations,” the journalists said, on a provisional balance sheet.

They participated in the demonstrations throughout the country between 410,000 people, according to the government, and 800,000 people, according to the union CGT, of which between 110,000 and 250,000 in Paris.

The week before, the authorities calculated that 550,000 protesters went out on the streets, while the unions calculated that it was 800,000.

In the streets of the French capital, the reinforcement of security was visible, with dozens of police vehicles and helicopters accompanying the march, whose route was changed on Friday by order of the authorities to streets further away from the center.

While the demonstrations “went well” and the “balance was quite positive”, Nuñez lamented the disturbances of militants of “ultraleft and extreme left dressed in black”.

Police were the target of the projectile throw and there were “some degradations and lootings of commercial establishments” in some cities, but in a much lower number than last Saturday’s 3,000.

Most incidents occurred in Paris, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes, Tours, Bordeaux, Dijon, Grenoble, Marseille and Toulouse.

The minister also pointed out that there were, for the first time, clashes between militants from the far right and militants from the far left in Nice and Montpellier.

Stopped from organizing protests today, the ‘yellow vests’ movement, which requires measures to alleviate the cost of living, called for new demonstrations for the 31st.

The trade unions are also calling for a large mobilization for the following week, on November 5, when a general public strike is planned.