On April 24, demonstrators gathered in front of the town hall to bang on pans against Macron. “He hasn’t listened to people for a year! they protest.
From our correspondent in Nîmes, Henri Frasque
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Bling! Bling! Dong! Dong! At 8 p.m. sharp last night, an infernal din resounded under the windows of the town hall of Nîmes, in a small square nestled in the heart of the Ecusson. As in more than a hundred cities in France – Paris, Rennes, Nantes, Alençon, Auxerre, Arras, Charleville-Mézières, Grenoble, Marseille… – demonstrators arise, equipped with saucepans, lids, bells, whistles , on the occasion of the first anniversary of the re-election of Emmanuel Macron.
In Nîmes, there are just over a hundred. “We came to celebrate the first birthday of our president,” shouts Isabelle, a college teacher. “He hasn’t listened to people for a year! A woman dances to the rhythm of the charivari, which eventually finds its pulse. Protesters chant “Macron, resign!” “.
A few police officers observe the scene from a safe distance, placid. Here, no decree from the prefect to ban “portable sound devices”, like the one which had allowed the gendarmes to confiscate their pans from the demonstrators during the trip of Emmanuel Macron, on April 20, to Ganges…
READ ALSOHow the pan became politicalLucas and Tarik, 23, two history students from Lyon passing through Nîmes, beat with their hands on a municipal planter, for lack of pots. “We came to express our anger against the class contempt shown by this government”, explains Lucas, who was part of all the demonstrations against the reform in Lyon. “When he speaks, the President of the Republic is inaudible. We came to answer him ironically, ”adds Tarik. “In the nineteenthe century, the workers made as much noise as possible at the front of the demonstrations to protect the crowd”, says the student, who is about to put on the cape.
In Nîmes, the previous “casserolade” sounded on April 17 in front of the prefecture, before some of the demonstrators left to resound their pans under the windows of the private home of the mayor, Jean-Paul Fournier. But why attack an LR mayor who does not support the President of the Republic? “It is the meeting place in all the cities of France, some of which do not have a prefecture, explains a demonstrator to us. And then some of the elected LRs supported the reform or refused to vote for the motion of censure. »
“Do not let the fire cool under the pot”
flags ofAttack, LFI, PCF, Solidaires or the Confédération paysanne indicate that the participants are all clearly on the left. The noise will last nearly half an hour. “The idea is to continue to fight and not to leave the field to the far right”, launches François Girodon, a young retiree (58 years old) from the SNCF and spokesperson for Udirs, a union of pensioners. “Zemmour and Le Pen are just waiting for that: to take the place. »
“The head of state is supposed to unify the country. He divides it completely, and he brings up the far right, ”protests Antoine Basa, 25, unemployed, who bangs enthusiastically on his saucepan, his ears protected by headphones. Florence, a 49-year-old FSU member maths teacher, considers the increase from 100 to 230 euros net of teachers’ salaries announced last week by Emmanuel Macron. “A lot of fun,” adds Jean-Yves, a 62-year-old economics and management professor, who knocks on a cover attached to the handlebars of his bike. If he is here this evening, it is to “leave the fire under the pot, so as not to allow it to cool”.
READ ALSOThe smicards of educationThe manifestation of the 1is May in Nîmes will be, he is sure, “exceptional”. “We hope there will be people, but a 1is May during the holidays, it’s difficult”, worries Régis, a 58-year-old territorial technician, member of Attac. But he is sure: “It will be complicated for Macron and his ministers. Wherever they go, they will be booed. “Yesterday evening, Parisian demonstrators blocked for a long time at the platform, in the Gare de Lyon, the TGV in which the Minister of National Education, Pap Ndiaye, was traveling. trip during which he had been heavily heckled.
2023-04-25 10:11:09
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