PCF national secretary Fabien Roussel accused Emmanuel Macron on Saturday of creating a climate of “civil war”, and of counting on the violence in the processions against the pension reform to “turn opinion around”.
“The President of the Republic, right in his boots, provoked the French, aroused a lot of anger”, accused the communist leader, questioned on RMC, castigating the decision to resort to 49.3 to pass the reform, and a televised address “quirky, contemptuous, full of arrogance” on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately it aroused violent anger on the part of some. When there are 1,000 violent individuals out of 3.5 million demonstrators, well, we are talking about the degradations and the 1,000 individuals”, regretted the deputy from the North.
The protest in the street gathered Thursday between 1.089 million demonstrators (Interior) and 3.5 million (CGT). The violence, relatively sporadic in previous marches, escalated.
“I wonder if this is not what the President of the Republic is looking for, to do everything to radicalize the movement, to arouse so much anger that it overflows (…) and to turn public opinion against the demonstrations”, castigated Mr. Roussel.
“We went from pacifist demonstrations to broken faces,” lamented Mr. Roussel. “I am thinking as much of these demonstrators as of the police (…) The President is creating a climate of civil war”.
The town hall of Bordeaux saw its door set on fire, “scenes of chaos” were denounced by the mayor of Rennes, a demonstrator had a thumb torn off in Rouen, a police station was targeted in Lorient.
An activist from the Sud-Rail railway union was also seriously injured in the eye in Paris, his union said on Friday. A delegate then told AFP that the railway worker would have lost the use of his eye. The union denounced on Saturday “the use of disencirclement grenades”.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reported 457 arrests and 441 injuries in the ranks of the police.
A new day of protests is due to take place on Tuesday.
03/25/2023 11:08:48 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP