Pensions: 13,000 police and gendarmes mobilized on Tuesday, including 5,500 in Paris

March 27, 2023

Gérald Darmanin announced Monday that an “unprecedented security device” would be deployed on Tuesday for the 10th day of mobilization against the pension reform with “13,000 police and gendarmes, including 5,500 in Paris”.

During a press conference, the Minister of the Interior called “in this period of violence (…) solemnly everyone to calm” and mentioned the possible presence in Paris on Tuesday of “more than 1,000 radical elements, some of whom came from abroad, and others (who) were present in Sainte-Soline this weekend”.

Mr. Darmanin added that these people “from the ultra-left and the far left” could also “carry out actions in Lyon, Rennes, Nantes, Dijon and Bordeaux”, cities where the demonstrations were peppered last Thursday with lots of violence.

These people “are trying to take the union processions hostage”, he lamented. “They come to break, to kill police and gendarmes (…) to destabilize the institutions and put France on fire and blood”.

The minister affirmed that his services anticipated for Tuesday “very significant risks to public order” and mentioned a “context of ultraviolence” to justify the deployment of an “unprecedented” law enforcement device. .

During the previous day of inter-union mobilization last Thursday, 12,000 police and gendarmes had been mobilized, including 5,000 in Paris.

Mr. Darmanin took stock of the demonstrations against the pension reform since March 16: “114 acts of vandalism against offices, 128 against public buildings, 2,179 arson attacks, 891 police officers and gendarmes injured”.

In Saintes-Soline (Deux-Sèvres) where the unauthorized demonstration against water reservoirs gave rise to violent clashes with the gendarmes on Saturday, the minister affirmed that there had been counted “200 people known to the services, including many S files among the thousand radicals” present.

He said he had “a thought for the two men (protesters) who have their vital prognosis engaged” seriously injured. He recalled that 47 gendarmes were also injured on Saturday in Deux-Sèvres.