More than 10,000 people marched through Paris on Sunday in protest at “yellow vest” violence during the anti-government demos that have drawn tens of thousands of people to the streets over the past 11 weeks.
In Sunday’s rival protest, the crowds marched in rain from the Place de la Nation square to the Bastille monument, some chanting “Yes to democracy, no to revolution” as they waved French and European Union flags.
Dubbed the “red scarf” movement, the centrist initiative is the brainchild of an engineer from Toulouse who was horrified by the violence seen among more extremist “yellow vest” demonstrators.
Many protesters joining the rally said they were not against “yellow vest” demands for greater help for France’s poor, but were sick of the clashes and destruction that have marked protests.
“It’s not a protest against the yellow vests — it’s a protest to say, you’ve made your demands, we are listening to them,” Francois Patriat, a senator from Macron’s centrist party, told AFP at the demonstration.
“There are other places to discuss this than the street. You cannot block the country and economy because you consider the president to be illegitimate.”
Sunday’s protest was almost double the size of the “yellow vest” demonstration in Paris a day earlier, when some 4,000 people came out to rail against Macron.
The protesters are named after the luminous road safety vests that they wear.
Originally sparked by rises in fuel taxes, the movement quickly snowballed into a widespread revolt over accusations the president, an ex-banker, is out of touch with rural and small-town France.
But their numbers have ebbed in recent weeks after Macron announced a series of policy climbdowns and launched a two-month consultation to allow people to vent their anger.
Prominent ‘yellow vest’ hurt
“He is in shock. He will be handicapped for life. It is a tragedy for him and his family,” Rodrigues’ lawyer Philippe de Veulle told BFM television.
Rodrigues, a construction worker, was placed in an artificial coma overnight after the incident at the Bastille monument on Saturday afternoon.
The 40-year-old, who has 50,000 followers on Facebook, was live-streaming the protest on the website when he was hit.
De Veulle said Rodrigues was struck in the eye with a “flash-ball”, referring to the 40-mm (1.6-inch) rubber projectiles used by French riot police.
Junior Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on Sunday told LCI television there was “no evidence” to show Rodrigues was hit by a police rubber projectile. Investigations were still ongoing into the incident.
The devices — which are not used in most European countries — have been blamed for dozens of serious injuries at “yellow vest” protests, leading to calls for them to be banned.
On Saturday, police using the weapons were for the first time deployed wearing body cams in a bid to increase transparency.
Rodrigues’ lawyer insisted his client was not one of the “hooligans” who have been joining the weekly protests to cause trouble for police.
In the video, Rodrigues can be heard several times warning protesters to leave the Bastille area because hard-left “black bloc” agitators were coming to attack the police.
Rodrigues is lodging a complaint against police, his lawyer said.
Witnesses picked up the projectile that struck Rodrigues and police are set to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
AFP
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