New order. A few hours before Emmanuel Macron’s visit to a vocational school in Saintes, the Charente-Maritime prefecture issued a decree prohibiting any “demonstration” or “gathering” near the school.
Prefect Nicolas Basselier motivated his decision in particular by the fear of “disturbances to public order” in the context of the challenge to the pension reform and in view of calls for mobilization on social networks by “radical groups of the Charente-Maritime and neighboring departments”.
He also refers more specifically to threats from an individual saying on Facebook that he wanted to “take a sniper rifle with ammunition” on the occasion of the visit of the President of the Republic, expected around 11:45 a.m. at the Bernard-Technical and Vocational High School. Palissy in Saintes.
The order runs from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The unions had called for demonstrations from 9 a.m. in front of the establishment, but did not attend the preparatory meeting with the prefecture on Wednesday, the prefect also indicates in his decree.
