"Now the police are beating the deputy": how the 16th rally of yellow jackets protests took place in France

On Saturday, March 2, in France, another rally of national protests against the policies of the administration of incumbent President Emmanuel Macron took place. According to the Ministry of the Interior of the Fifth Republic, 39.3 thousand people took part in demonstrations of “yellow vests” all over the country.

However, the organizers of the demonstrations claim that at least 92 thousand activists took to the streets of 150 settlements across the country. The final results of the XVI act of performances "yellow vests" will bring on Sunday.

Despite the fact that the protests in general were held in a peaceful manner, and some demonstrators talked with police officers and even gave them flowers in the best traditions of pacifist speeches of the 1970s, some actions still turned into natural unrest and clashes of protesters with law enforcement officers.

Une manifestante offre une fleur à un policier, un peu gêné, "je suis amoureuse" dit-elle # paris # giletsjaunespic.twitter.com / 7c6cyJBMiO

At least 33 detainees in Paris are reported, and arrests are also reported from other French cities. There have been cases of police using water cannons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

Serious clashes occurred in the 40,000 city of Ales (Gard department). According to Deputy Prefect Jean Rampon, 15 policemen and at least one demonstrator were injured as a result of clashes in the action, which was attended by more than 1,000 people.

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the injury to one of the supporters of the “yellow vests”. It is assumed that the activist was injured from a traumatic gun Flash-Ball.

PlaceLa place de l'Etoile et les Champs-Elysées sont bloqués par les Gilets Jaunes. Les #FDO ont du mal à débloquer la situation. # GiletsJaunes # Acte16 # ActeXVI # 2mars # YellowVests # Parispic.twitter.com / kwPgiWJH2a

In Bordeaux, demonstrators temporarily occupied the railway station, and in Lille, a group of women in red robes, depicting the symbol of the French Republic Marianne, led a column of protesters. All of them had their mouths sealed with a black ribbon as a sign of the suppression of freedom by the authorities, and the body showed bleeding wounds as a sign of police violence.

There is a whole array of evidence of attacks by law enforcement officers against activists. So, according to the deputy of the lower house of the French parliament from the party “Unconquered France” Loic Prudhomme, the policeman hit him when he peacefully left a demonstration in Bordeaux. In a video recording on her Twitter, Prudhomme shows off a bloody ear.

The attack on the parliamentarian has already been condemned by a number of French politicians, including the leader of “Unconquered France” and the 2017 presidential election participant Jean-Luc Melenchon, who called for an end to this mess.

Et maintenant ils matraquent un député insoumis, @PrudhommeLoic, à #Bordeaux. Il faut arrêter cette dérive. Ce n'est plus la France ça.

“Now they are beating up Loik Prudhomm’s deputy from“ Unconquered France ”in Bordeaux. We have to stop this mess. This is no longer France, ”wrote Melenchon.

According to Prudhomm himself, he has already filed a complaint about the actions of law enforcement officers in the General Inspectorate of the national police. The parliamentarian also criticized the existing doctrine of maintaining order and called on the authorities to take full responsibility.

Journalist Stephanie Roy also reported inappropriate behavior of law enforcement officers. According to her, during the dispersal of a demonstration in Bordeaux, a police officer pushed her with a shield and kicked her. Moreover, according to her, at that moment she was filming what was happening on the camera and she clearly had a special bandage for the press.

#Bordeaux
Coupés de pied et coups de bouclier, la liberté de la presse assurée
Camera et brassard presse pourtant visibles # GiletsJaunes # ActeXVI # Acte16 # 2Mars # 2mars2019pic.twitter.com / uMOji3bzze

The Saturday wave of “yellow vests” actions has become the 16th in a row since the start of the protest movement in mid-November 2018. On the eve of the speeches, the organizers of the demonstrations called them a prelude to the “month of mobilization”, which, according to them, should be March. It is expected that by the middle of the month the protest potential will grow on the wave of completion of the national debate initiated by Emmanuel Macron. They were supposed to be a negotiating platform between the authorities and activists, but in the end many “yellow vests” are critical of the implementation of this initiative and call it a masquerade.

We add that during the protests of the "vests", the protesters have already received about 1,800 sentences.

According to the leading researcher of the Department of Social and Political Studies of the Institute of Europe, Sergei Fedorov, in this situation, the leadership of the Fifth Republic does not actually know how to stop the protests, and therefore hopes that they can stop by themselves.

“Macron and the cabinet of ministers are hoping that they will be able to end the national debate by mid-March and that this will be the final point. Perhaps they will decide on a referendum. It is not yet clear what questions can be put on it, but this can be a point in this entire line of protests, ”the expert noted.