Thousands of people took to the streets in France on Saturday against a new security law and some brutal police crackdown. Protesters decided to add to the already planned trade union demonstrations against unemployment and social insecurity. The marches took place in about 90 French cities.
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Saturday’s events in Paris began peacefully, but over time clashes broke out between groups of protesters and police. Most of these dissidents had their faces covered, and some hammers tore the cobblestones. According to Reuters, the police responded with tear gas. Larger cities such as Marseille and Lyon are reporting protests in a calm spirit.
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Followers of the Yellow Vests movement also took part in the Paris events. It arose in November 2018 against government tax reforms, which he said had too much impact on the working and middle classes, writes the AFP agency.
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Protesters are protesting against the brutal crackdown by police and President Emmanuel Macron’s intention to bring about changes in security policy. According to them, the draft security law would restrict civil liberties. The slogans “France, the country of police law” or “Download the security law” appeared on the banners.
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French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Twitter that police arrested 22 people during protests in Paris on Saturday afternoon. He also thanked the mobilized police forces that sometimes have to face violent people. According to the organizers of the demonstrations, up to half a million people took to the streets last Saturday against the law. Significantly smaller protests took place in mid-November.
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On Monday, the French government announced that it would rewrite the most controversial part of the law. This is Article 24, which would prohibit the media from publishing footage and photographs on which members of the security forces could be identified. However, some demonstrators and activists are calling for a complete repeal of the law. Former left-wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon called on the government in Marseille to “throw the law in the trash.”
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“We are heading for an ever-increasing restriction on freedoms. There is no excuse for this, “Reine quoted Karine Shebab, a Parisian, as saying. Another protester said France was in the habit of restricting freedom and preaching its importance at the same time.
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Participation in the demonstrations last weekend was also stimulated by several controversial police interventions. On Monday, four police officers were indicted who brutally attacked music producer Michel Zecler last week. The uplift also sparked the evacuation of a refugee camp in Paris at the end of November.
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