They had come in large numbers from the four corners of Brittany and Normandy to defend artisanal fishing. This Wednesday morning in Rennes, several hundred “angry” fishermen gathered on the Esplanade de Gaulle. “Between the cost of diesel, the ban on certain fishing areas and the regulations which are getting tougher, we are fed up, assures David Le Quintrec, fishing boss in Lorient and at the origin of the mobilization. We are in the process of destroying the French fleet while the big players in industrial fishing plunder our resources. Declared in the prefecture, the gathering was to be static on the esplanade where several smoke bombs were lit and fireworks fired.
But soon enough, the situation degenerated. A little before 11 a.m., the procession, led by some radical elements opposed to the pension reform, took the direction of the Parliament of Brittany where the fishermen had initially planned to gather. The clashes then started between the demonstrators and the police, deployed in large numbers to protect the parliament which had been ravaged by flames during a demonstration by fishermen on February 2, 1994.
Numerous projectiles were thrown and rockets fired at the police who responded by using water cannons and firing tear gas into the crowd.
A tractor started to charge law enforcement
In the general confusion, a tractor was even started to charge the police. “Of course it was going to blow up when you see the general mess that there is at the moment”, testifies Thierry, a fisherman from Guilvinec who attends the scene incredulously.
“It’s still a shame because we’re only going to remember the clashes from this event,” sighs Bernard, who came from Normandy. For long minutes, the clashes continued on the Place de la République where barricades were erected and fires lit. “There aren’t too many fishermen among the demonstrators anymore,” smiles Ludovic, who came from Aber-Wrac’h with his fellow fishermen.
Crisscrossing the entire square, the police repeatedly charged the demonstrators, pushing them outside the hypercentre. While the situation returned to calm around 1:30 p.m., the prefecture indicates that nine people were arrested for damage and use of smoke bombs on the police. Three protesters were also injured and taken to hospital.
