Tense atmosphere in Lyon, on the sidelines of a trip by Emmanuel Macron. While the President of the Republic participated this Monday afternoon in a ceremony at the Montluc prison memorial, where Jean Moulin and other figures of the Resistance were detained, several thousand people demonstrated to protest against the pension reform while paying tribute to the resistance fighters of the Second World War.
Some 3,000 individuals according to the prefecture, 5,000 according to the CGT, took part in the rally punctuated by tear gas shots and some damage: broken windows of the door of the town hall of the district, such as car windows and a bus shelter, container with overturned glass, or burning pallets ...
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The Rhône prefecture having banned any gathering in a large perimeter around the memorial, the participants marched on the edge of the forbidden zone. The police repelled any attempt to incurde into the prohibited area by firing tear gas.
Different profiles of all ages
"The Resistance concerns everyone, it's not normal that we can't attend the tribute ceremonies in Montluc," said Jean-Pierre Mestat, a 74-year-old retiree. "People are angry. If we want to break down anger, we must act differently. »
The administrative court of Lyon rejected in the morning an appeal for summary liberty filed the day before by unions, including the CGT of the Rhône, against the prefectural ban on demonstrating near the memorial where the president paid tribute to the Resistance. The CGT maintained its "call to commemorate the social work of the Resistance" on the outskirts of the forbidden zone, like FO, the PCF, an education inter-union and other organizations.
The demonstration brought together people with different profiles and of all ages: trade unionists waving their flags, people with pots and pans – which have become a symbolic object of protests against the pension reform – a few dozen young people dressed all in black.
"We reach a limit there"
It had started in a good-natured atmosphere around 14 p.m., in front of barriers erected by the police. Around 17 p.m. the demonstrators gathered in a square not far from the edge of the perimeter and began to disperse.
"This police apparatus is undemocratic. This is a limit. It's contemptuous for the people," protested Charlotte Abalé Gnahoré, a 36-year-old costume designer and contract teacher, who also spoke out against the recently adopted pension reform. "Macron's policy goes against what the resistance fighters fought and died for. It's a shame for our country and for democracy," she said.
