Rioters attack trade unionists during demonstration in Rennes, five wounded
Masked rioters attacked around twenty trade unionists on the fringes of the 5 November march in Rennes, leaving at least five union members wounded.
Trade unionists targeted by rioters within Rennes procession
At least five trade unionists were injured on Thursday in Rennes after being attacked by around fifty rioters on the fringes of the cross-industry demonstration, reports letelegramme.fr.
The procession comprised between 21,000 participants according to the prefecture and 35,000 according to the inter-union coordination, and stretched over several kilometres through the city centre when the situation deteriorated. At around 15:00, near the railway station, several hundred individuals dressed in black and wearing masks forced their way through to take the lead of the march. The Saint Antoine hotel was targeted: glass panels shattered under projectiles before the establishment was ransacked. Mobile gendarmes, positioned in reserve, charged to contain the group.
Encirclement manoeuvre and splitting of the procession
The prefecture then launched an encirclement manoeuvre through adjoining streets, with the objective of "going around Rue Aubry to trap them and make mass arrests". Several dozen rioters were directly arrested.
Split in two, the trade union demonstration was invited to turn into that same Rue Aubry to reach Boulevard Magenta. At the same moment, around fifty radical protesters retreated hastily to avoid the police cordon.
Planks, paving stones, punches: trade unionists beaten
Cornered, the rioters turned against the front ranks of the union procession, reproaching them for following prefecture instructions related to the route change. Planks torn from construction site barriers were wielded like battering rams, paving stones thrown, punches and kicks dealt: around twenty trade unionists present were struck and attacked.
Exchanges between a young masked protester and union activists remained highly tense. "What use are you, the unions, if you show no solidarity with us?", the young man said. A trade unionist replied to him: "We have comrades injured because of your mates, so now, you get out of here."
"It is unbearable to be attacked like this"
"We were literally attacked," denounced Fabrice Lerestif, general secretary of Force Ouvrière in Ille-et-Vilaine. Mathieu Cocq, secretary of the CGT, described the situation as unacceptable: "It is unbearable to be attacked like this. There are people who hate unions in this country. But that is a detail. The turnout is enormous today, that is what matters most."
From the prefecture's side, the authorities clarified that "the scene was of extreme violence" and that the trade unionists "were attacked gratuitously because they decided to continue the demonstration via Rue Aubry", without seeking to oppose the mobile gendarmes' cordon.
Five wounded in union ranks
The provisional toll reports at least five wounded who received treatment from emergency services. Among them are the assistant general secretary of FO, who suffered bruising, and an activist struck on the back of the skull by a paving stone.
Source: Google News LU FR