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The fire in progress in Paris this evening. Tenani Serge/Avenir Pictures/ABACA

Fire breaks out near Paris train station after protests led to violence

Police on Twitter told people to avoid the area.

PARIS POLICE REPORTED a fire this evening near the Gare de Lyon train station, which was partially evacuated after violence broke out on the margins of a banned protest against a Congolese artist giving a concert nearby.

Police said it had intervened to stop protesters who set alight garbage bins and scooters, releasing a thick, black smoke cloud over the city centre. 

“Avoid the area and allow the emergency services to intervene,” the police said on Twitter, later saying the fire had been brought under control and was “being extinguished.” 

Paris police tweeted that some demonstrators were preventing the fire and rescue service from accessing the fire. 

The SCNF train service operator said the underground section of the Gare de Lyon was evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Police had banned any protests around the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, not far from the station, where Congolese artist Fally Ipupa was to give a concert.

Congolese expats regularly speak out against artists from home who perform in France or Belgium, accusing them of being close to former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila and his successor Felix Tshisekedi.

A 2017 concert by Ipupa was cancelled by police citing risks for “serious disturbances to the public order”. 

More to follow…

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    Mute wacker macker
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    Dec 15th 2018, 9:54 AM

    Haven’t the Council little to do. It would be far better for the Council to keep the streets clean and trim their overgrown trees than worrying about a few cups of coffe being sold in a shop. Anything but do the hard work.

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    Mute Stevie Doran
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    Dec 15th 2018, 11:42 AM

    Which means they have done exactly the same as Starbucks

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    Mute SilexFlint
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    Dec 15th 2018, 5:16 PM

    @Stevie Doran: Starbucks are turning clothes shops into cafes, dunnes are just putting in a few tables and chairs into a supermarket that already sells food and drink.

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    Mute Brian Farrell
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    Dec 15th 2018, 9:55 PM

    The dreaded pencil-pushers rear their ugly heads again……South Dublin County Council, a Rest Home for Ageing Bureaucrats…….

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