Soon 23:30 this Saturday and the Uber driver who is long overdue. “I’m going to get screwed by my mother”, grimaces this teenager on the Place du Palais-Bourbon, just next to the Invalides (Paris 7th district). With his friends from Boulogne (Hauts-de-Seine), he partied for several hours on the lawn at Les Invalides. On the program: beer, flirting and laughs. We don’t really know if it was the arrival of the police around 10 p.m. or the maternal curfew that put an end to the evening.
Throughout this evening, spontaneous parties or parties announced on social networks have multiplied in the capital. In any case, nearly a thousand people gathered at the Invalides. The day before, Friday evening, there were nearly 2,000 revelers. But we also let off steam on the Champs-Élysées (8th) and, even later in the night, at the Tuileries (1st). In cafes, everywhere like Saint-Michel or on Boulevard Saint-Germain (Ve), we hung out well beyond the fateful hour.
Three arrests at the Invalides
The atmosphere was above all festive. At Invalides, where there were more people, the intervention of the police, even before the curfew for non-compliance with barrier gestures, caused a few incidents. The forces of order, arrived en masse, were the subject of throwing bottles. They responded with tear gas fire. Appraisal: three arrests, according to the police headquarters.
The day before, no one had been arrested. The Security and Intervention Company and the Paris Night Anti-Crime Brigade had managed to disperse the crowd. For those who refused to leave, four long-range shots of tear gas
“It is generally quieter than yesterday”, observed this Saturday evening an official posted with his colleagues to block the access to the street of the University. All around Les Invalides, police trucks were parked as a deterrent.
With other friends just as tipsy as him, this young man has just been turned away from the rue de l’Université (6th arrondissement). “Where are the girls?” He yells. Exactly, they are there on the Place du Palais-Bourbon, waiting to find a way to return home. They dismiss the importunate. Among the revelers who flock from the Invalides, there are also quite a few tourists, delighted to take advantage of the Parisian atmosphere.
Around 11:30 p.m. the majority of revelers were looking to return home
On the Champs-Élysées, groups block traffic by singing. In the Tuileries, we dance and get excited under the influence of alcohol. “A guy broke a bottle. With a shard he threatened other people. He ended up being overpowered by guys in the crowd. During all this time, a friend dialed 17. To report it and ask for an intervention. For seven minutes but zero response. “
Interventions, there could have been a bit everywhere. At 11:30 p.m., if the vast majority of revelers were above all looking to return home, others wanted to stay to party like at the Tuileries. “There is a letting go,” notes a police officer. It’s a bit of the big nonsense but it remains rather calm. We do what we can, but as long as it doesn’t degenerate… ”
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