The Rennes prosecutor's office announced on Monday April 11 that it had opened a flagrant investigation after the violence and damage that took place the evening before in the center of this city, after the announcement of the electoral results.
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This investigation opened on Sunday evening "
targets the heads of serious damage to property of public interest and private property during demonstrations on the public highway
", the Rennes prosecutor's office told AFP, specifying that the penalty incurred was five years and a fine of 75,000 euros.
According to the prosecution, “
various damages were committed during the evening
” in the center of the Breton metropolis.
“We are pissed off”
Shortly after the announcement of the results, around 500 people, mostly young people, some of them wearing hoods, set up barricades, defaced bank fronts, broke shop windows or bus shelters, or tagged numerous walls, observed an AFP journalist.
Among the tags inscribed were "
Youth fuck national fascism, Le Pen fascist dynasty
", "
Burn the right
", "
social war
".
The demonstrators also chanted anti-capitalist and anti-extreme right slogans.
"
In five years, Macron has broken everything and there we are doing it again in the 2nd round ... We are pissed off and we only have that to express ourselves: fire and breaking things
", declared Youri (first name changed at his request), one of the demonstrators, aged 21, to an AFP journalist.
"
We need measures that correspond to what people want and not just an upper class that imposes without arguments... don't want this anymore
,” said Roxane, a 21-year-old protester.
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The socialist mayor of Rennes, Nathalie Appéré, reacted to this violence on her Twitter account.
“
I strongly condemn the damage committed this evening in the city center of Rennes.
Democracy is not and it will never be violence or vandalism
”.
In Rennes, Jean-Luc Mélenchon came out on top with 36.31%, ahead of Emmanuel Macron (29.47%).
Marine Le Pen collected 7.29%, far from her national score.
