Le Figaro Lyon
New clashes and degradations on the sidelines of a rally against the pension reform and the government's policy in Lyon. The town hall and the police station of the 1st arrondissement were defaced by stone throwing and graffiti Friday on the sidelines of a "popular carnival" that brought together at least 300 people, according to police counting - much more according to some images shot on the spot - in an atmosphere that was initially calm. The festive appointment was given at 20 p.m. on the Croix Rousse plateau at the initiative of about twenty left-wing formations, including action groups of the France Insoumise and the young socialists of the Rhône. An undeclared gathering in the prefecture for which the latter had not taken a ban as has sometimes been the case in recent weeks.
Good child in the early evening, the atmosphere became tense over the hours, and the descent to the Terreaux by the slopes of the Croix Rousse, at the initiative of thugs who came to fight. Masked individuals attacked the police station and town hall of the 1st arrondissement, as well as billboards and other surveillance cameras. If videos are circulating online that appear to show the burned door of the police station, it would really be only the reflection of a billboard on fire, according to the prefecture. Street furniture was also set on fire and thrown on the road in an attempt to build barricades, while the Franprix supermarket on Place Tobie Robatel was opened and looted.
The police used numerous tear gas to disperse the troublemakers and made an arrest. The prefect of the Rhône, Fabienne Buccio, pointed to "inadmissible excesses endangering the safety of Lyonnais", and welcomed the intervention of the police. Acts "unacceptable and revolting" for the mayor of the 1st arrondissement Yasmine Bouagga (EELV). "The 'popular carnival' was hacked by violent individuals engaged in looting, burning and degradation of local public services, targeted because they are close and accessible. Individuals must be identified, prosecuted and punished. Political protest cannot be sullied and hindered by these actions."
