The tension was still high, this Saturday, in the Hérault.
An anti-vaccine pass demonstration, bringing together - according to the police - 2,500 demonstrators in the center of Montpellier, was marked on Saturday by damage and clashes, noted an AFP journalist.
Police intervention in the middle of the demonstration causes tension in #Montpellier, comedy under tear gas.
#convoisdelaliberte #antipass pic.twitter.com/EY9Av4s87E
— Ricardo Parreira (@RicardParreir) February 12, 2022
Several windows were broken, including those of two banks, and garbage cans were set on fire by a radicalized part of the demonstrators, according to the Departmental Directorate of Public Security (DDSP) of Hérault.
A total of five people were arrested, AFP learned in the evening from a police source.
Projectiles against tear gas
Targeted by projectiles from demonstrators, the police responded by repeatedly using tear gas, in front of the Hérault prefecture and Place de la Comédie, to disperse the crowd.
Read also“Freedom convoy”: 7,600 demonstrators, 54 arrests … what happened in Paris this Saturday
The situation remained tense until the end of the afternoon, with "scattered groups (who) continued to stir up trouble", "several hundred people" according to the police.
According to Midi Libre, it was black blocks.
Tensions continue rue Foch in front of the courthouse #montpellier pic.twitter.com/j4i66STV91
— Gazette Live Mtp (@GazetteLive34) February 12, 2022
In the middle of the afternoon, the police had to divert traffic to prevent vehicles from heading towards the city center, AFP noted.
