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"These acts are contrary to republican values."
The new prefect of the Rhône, Fabienne Buccio, strongly condemned the incidents which occurred on the sidelines of the demonstration against the pension reform this Wednesday in Lyon.
When the head of the procession arrived in Place Bellecour, a handful of individuals, dressed in black and masked for some, indeed burned a French flag.
They then took down the European flag which was floating on a mast adjoining the building, before setting it on fire as well.
The prefecture announced two arrests for these
"degradations"
.
The tourist office has also been repainted with anti-police tags mentioning: "ACAB" ("All cops are bastards" or in French "All cops are bastards", Editor's note) or "Kill a cop".
The deputy mayor of Lyon in charge of security also condemned "despicable acts".
“They are not there for retreats”
For their part, the police stayed away from a procession which marched in a good mood.
With a mobilization up slightly compared to January 19.
The CGT counted 45,000 demonstrators (against 38,000 ten days ago), the prefecture 25,000 (23,000 ten days ago).
Some demonstrators expressed their dissatisfaction with the individuals who burned the flags.
"It's a demonstration for pensions, they're not here for that
," annoyed a lady with white hair.