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FRANCE’S “YELLOW VEST” movement demonstrated against alleged police violence in rallies across the country today, as nearly 60 lawyers denounced the treatment of protesters in the courts.
The latest marches came a day after France’s top court threw out a bid to ban weapons that shoot 40-millimeter rubber projectiles blamed for a number of serious injuries.
Thousands of protesters took part in a “march of the injured” in Paris calling for a ban on the weapons.
One of the movement’s leading figures Jerome Rodriguez, who was hit in the eye at last Saturday’s demonstration, was greeted warmly by fellow demonstrators.
The marchers gathered for a rally at Place de la Republique in the city centre, where police used tear gas and water cannons to force demonstrators to keep their distance and clashes broke out with some protesters, some hooded or masked.
A police estimate put the turn-out at 10,500 in Paris, but an independent count carried out for the media, including, AFP, put the figure at 13,800.
An interior ministry estimate at 2:00 pm put the turn-out across France at 17,400, compared to the 22,000 they counted at the same time last weekend.
Today, a group of 59 lawyers published an open letter on the France Info news website denouncing what they said was the harsh treatment of yellow vest protesters in the courts.
Judgments against demonstrators were being rushed through without proper respect for their rights, they wrote. They contrasted the speed of the rulings against their clients with the slow pace of investigations into alleged police violence.
The IGPN, the body that investigates police abuses, has launched 116 investigations into the conduct of officers during the protests, 10 of them concerning serious eye injuries suffered by demonstrators.
12th round of protests
Yesterday’s court ruling against banning the “defensive ball launchers”, known as LBDs, came despite claims by the Desarmons-Les (Disarm Them) collective that the weapons have blinded or seriously injured 20 protesters.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner acknowledged that the weapon, — used more than 9,200 times since the start of the yellow vest protests — could cause injuries. While defending their use against “rioters”, he said that any abuse of the weapon would be punished.
This weekend’s rallies across France included Toulouse and Bordeaux in the southwest, where support has been consistently strong, and several gatherings across Brittany in the northwest.
In Morlaix, Brittany, two police officers were injured and two demonstrators arrested after clashes between police and protesters, the regional authority reported.
Two officers were injured and a demonstrator arrested in the western port city of Nantes during clashes there, local officials said.
And there were clashes and 20 arrests in the northern city of Lille, where up to 1,800 protesters turned out, according to local officials — 3,000 according to organisers.
This is the 12th day of protests organised by the movement, which sprang up in November to denounce fuel tax rises but quickly grew into a more broadly based protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s aloof governing style.
MPs in Macron’s Republic on the Move party are seeking tougher penalties for organisers of unauthorised demonstrations and for people covering their faces during violent protests.
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Some of the videos of police violence are pretty horrendous. Paints a dictatorial picture of Macrons government
@Pól Ó’hAodha: you’re right, but a lot of the protesters are hooligans deliberately looking for trouble and in many cases not even parisian.
@Pól Ó’hAodha: Unfortunately the so-called ‘Gillettes Jaunes’ are nothing more than a testosterone-fuelled stereotype of Far-Right anarchy, destroying the personal property of the people of Paris, leaving the police no choice but to be heavy-handed. It’s a classic example of white males who are anchorless in society desperately trying to create a faux-brotherhood. There could be a Freudian link relating to a poor relationship with their mothers, or some deeper inner-sadness which fuels their rioting.
@Jack: still though, the french police have been overly excessive in many cases, hopefully prosecutions will follow, whether they are police or protesters who are engaging in excessive violence
@Orla Smith: it’s always easy to recognise the Irish people who haven’t wandered out of their mother’s box room for the past few years and have become overly obsessed by what the idiot box in the corner tells them to think when they start banging on about “white males”, seemingly oblivious to the fact they live in a 95% white country with little to no racial segregation of the few non-white residents here. I have no doubt you even speak with one of those Americanised accents that people who rarely get to interact with anyone other than their best friend, TV man, tend to possess.
@Orla Smith: Did you just assume their race and gender? Despicable in this day and age Orla
@Pól Ó’hAodha: Well that’s a tired ‘joke’.
@Winston Smith: Wow, that’s a lot of privileged ranting to digest in one go. First of all I’m married, left home when I was 18, a long time ago. Second of all, very few people under the age of 40 get their news or information from the TV. It’s a nice and easy, and tidy, very lazy mind, angle for extremists to harp on about; “Blah blah blah, Mainstream Media’ blah blah blah CNN / New York Times / The Guardian / AFP.” The reality is very few under-40′s get their information or news from traditional sources, but your ilk create a nareative to help you deal with the crushing reality that you are Alt-Right consoirwcy theorists who need to pigeon-hole opinions different to yours. In all honesty, your comments on The Journal are hysterical at best, down the Willy Wonka rabbit-hole of Fear.
@Orla Smith: 12th weekend in a row, fantastic the french!
@Orla Smith: ha, is it white privilege I have Orla? And that’s an “awesomely” believable backstory you’ve got going on there. Whether it’s mainstream media or online US sources you obsess over in your mouldy box room wasn’t really the point, your obsession with very US specific talking points like racialising class issues and now talking about privilege, even bringing the “alt-right” into things, betray the many years it’s been since you interacted with another human being outside the confines of a screen. I hope you at least pronounce tomato and crisps correctly, there’s some chance you’re still only at pathetic level and haven’t descended into pure embarrassment.
@Orla Smith: “white males” ! you are Feminazi for sure.
@Orla Smith: Cool story bro!
@Orla Smith: You couldn’t lie straight in bed.
@Orla Smith: sitting here in Reims. Your description of the yellow vests is so wide of the mark. How could you come to this conclusion. Where have you got it from.
So many triggered ‘men’!
@Orla Smith: Look at the demographic of people protesting in other parts of France. Don’t fit your description at all. A LOT of people in France are not happy with their government. Their attempts to make protests require authorisation combined with police tactics and weapons is very alarming.
@Orla Smith: many brave people gave their lives and limbs so that we could enjoy the rights we have left, it was ugly, lots of damage caused but it was definitely worth it
@Mjhint: I have spoken to truck drivers who go to France, they say it’s everywhere.
@Gerard Smith: The French held a democratic election, everybody who was elligible had the opportunity to vote. Vandalising a city and people’s vehicles just because the vote didn’t go your way is a disgrace and antithesis to democracy. These thugs should respect the people’s vote.
@Mjhint: was in the cathedral on wednesday, breathtaking!
@Orla Smith: Does your husband know you are a bloke??
@Orla Smith: haha that’s some grade A trolling. Sure you were saying the opposite about Venezuela the other day, promoting the toppling of the democratically elected (corrupt) leader.
@Jack Simpson: That’s because there are two Orla profiles. This one is the whacky lefty
@PC Principal: Only one Orla, and he`s some man for one man in fairness.
@Pixie McMullen: There are two Orlas for sure. One is linked to Twitter and the other to Facebook. I reckon there are two Toby accounts too – games going on between both of them
@Orla Smith: @Orla Smith: thanks for educating us. Lucky you’re not a white male. You could be acussed of mansplaining.
@Orla Smith: Are you trying to reduce the whole yellow vest movement down to that? Why don’t you walk through the rural towns and villages of France and explain this to the locals. Educate them and help them to understand what they really are.
@Orla Smith: by the way, if you look at the picture above at least 40% of the people in the image are female. Can you see?
@Orla Smith: go muff dive if u hate men so much
@Pól Ó’hAodha: agreed. But when a policeman batters a “protester”, often we don’t know if its because they threw a petrol bomb or landed a brick on a colleague.
Irish workers should have protested like this in 2009-11 when they were being taxed for the wrongdoing of Celtic Tiger builder/developers & their bankster & political buddies.
At least the French have the balls to publicly protest!
@Moorooka Mick:
Ireland doesn’t do mob rule.
@Ciarán Masterson: don’t be so naive. You’re already being ruled by a mob lol
@Ciarán Masterson:
Neither does France. Did you not know that?
@Ciarán Masterson: and if you don’t believe me have a look back to the crash, Irish water, cervical check scandal and now the children’s hospital latest robbery and tell me that’s not mob activity. It’s just presented differently
@Moorooka Mick: In reality the majority of Irish workers were shielded from the worst of the recession by colluding with the government to throw the youth under the bus. They were all happy enough to watch the young emigrate and even sign agreements for different payscales for future recruits doing the exact same job. Why would they protest for equal and fair treatment when such a thing would make their living standard worse?
@Moorooka Mick: there was an occupy camp on the top of Eyre Sq for 200+ days and because 99% of the local population were apparently too busy and had cast the movement as being a bunch of unemployed lefties and crustys it was eventually dismantled, it was supposed to be a place for people to gather but instead people created the divide that of course meant it wasnt representing of all demographics, I used to get sick in my mouth for months after when I’d hear people saying oh if only there was somewhere we could all meet up regularly and blah blah brain fart
@Diddles Daffy: Mary Harney once stated there wasn’t €20m for young girls cervical cancer vaccinations and a couple of months later there was the pig meat scandal over Xmas, not long after that the government found €50m compensation for the pig farmers!! Jesus wept
The cops have been showed to be particularly violent!>
@Colette Kearns:
Those protesters sprayed graffiti on the Arc de Triomphe and smashed up and looted shops. So why are you having a go at the cops?
@Ciarán Masterson: So the battons to the backs of heads and rubber bullets to the eyes of protesters are ok then? Not to mention the countless group beatings by officers of protesters who are defenseless on the ground
@Colette Kearns: they are partial to a bit of thievery too. There’s a video floating about online shooting the cops looting a shop
@Gussy Hughes: showing *
@Gussy Hughes: In fairness,And i would be categorised as antiestablishment in thought , but check out the “Police” signs on the back of their jackets, it is not French police, but is a video from another country that was used, …Its fake
Which only weakens the cause once pointed out on MSM
@Ciarán Masterson: Yes that’s fair enough, but I’m not referring to the thugs. I’m referring to the women with no protection or intent been dragged by the hair & being beaten up it was disgusting. There must be a purpose to this & I would suggest its to try to keep innocent protesters away as in just beat the cr*p out of innocent men women & children! It’s fair game if you’re wrecking people’s property but not if you just happen to be in the wrong place!
@thejournal removing reports again from their timeline. Please explain!!! #varadkarsspinmachine
@niall: What’s going on Niall?
@PC Principal: Niall’s tinfoil hat fell off his head.
@Orla Smith: your need for such a comment is based on what? There was a story about the childrens hospital and a pic of Leo in relation to such. This has now vanished off the feed. so get off your smart comment high horse.
@Orla Smith:
hail StOrm.
Moralist without a h.
Strange Pseudonym
@Orla Smith: back to sheep there Orla, your government has everything under control baaaaa
They’re a strange sort, the riot police protecting the elite for the scraps. Headbangers who just want to headbang.
The last time the French revolted, heads rolled
Can’t wait for America to call for an overthrow in France…..
Eu in melt down Italy in recession brexit France goeing in recession. people rising against globalist.Get best news in comment section tells what happning on the ground. O Mr Nigel frange also also wreaking Eu’S Heads. Leo’s days are numbered. Dont mention whats happening in Ireland.
@Caroline McGoona: we, as always will be the last to blow, The fighting Irish is only a myth at this stage unfortunately
Anarchists who want to see France burn like the days of Marie Antoinette demand human rights, I guess they’d have to be human for that to happen.
The French economy while strong now isn’t far off recession like the Italians, we could soon see Italexit and Franexit from the EU.
@Dotty Dunleary: ….or ordinary people protesting as they are not happy with policies being implemented or the direction the country is headed.
It’s time for Russia + China to bring US style freedom to France + arm the yellow vests.
Bordeaux was huge but NO mention it that one
Hundreds of thousands at that one
Nothing on the media tell the truth please
Alleged? Yeah it’s really hard to make out on freely available videos online if protestors are throwing themselves at police batons, projectiles and shrapnel from crowd control grenades
It’s hilarious this same man is telling Venezuela they need to hold elections when more people in his own country are out protesting against him. Why is the US/UK not calling for elections in France?
The protestors seeking violence and destruction should be targetted, isolated and dealt with by police on the spot!
that’s 6 or 7 blocking the port tunnel next Saturday so.
have your say