There have been serious clashes betwen striking firefighters and police in Paris today during demonstrations.
Fifteen members of the police force, seven riot-police and eight CRS, were injured and a police vehicle was burnt during clashes with the demonstrators. According to police reports there were thirty-five arrests.
Four trade unions, SNSPP-CFTC, CGT, FO and the Fédération autonome, had called on 37800 professional firemen to demonstrate to support their demands for a premium and the guarantee of a “decent” retirement from the age of 55. Between six thousand firemen, according to the police force, and ten thousand, according to trade unions travelled between Denfert-Rochereau and Nation.
At 5 p.m., violence erupted at Austerlitz bridge. Tens of helmeted firemen launched distress rockets and threw iron bars, building materials and traffic signs at the police force, which retorted with teargas. One of the gendarmes sustained a serious head injury and another a broken leg after being hit with a hammer had, according to police authorities. The confrontation intensified after 6 p.m., not far from Nation. The police force had established lines to prevent the firemen from reaching the ring road as they did after the demonstration of September 25. But around thirty of them managed to get onto the motorway near the porte de Vincennes, blocking traffic flow completely.
Comments