Bayonne Court: two convictions following 17 October violence
Two people have been convicted to 5 and 6 months' imprisonment with a suspended sentence following incidents during a demonstration in Bayonne. Seven suspects were arrested in total.
Two initial convictions for violence in Bayonne
According to ici.fr, the Bayonne court has handed down its first convictions following the incidents of 17 October. Two individuals with no prior criminal record received sentences of 5 and 6 months' imprisonment with a suspended sentence on the basis of early guilty pleas. They have also been banned from participating in demonstrations in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and are forbidden from possessing or carrying weapons.
Seven suspects were arrested following this day. Four others will appear before the courts at a later date: two have obtained a postponement of their hearing and remain in provisional detention pending trial, whilst two others are to appear on 22 October before the immediate appearance court.
Course of the incidents
On 17 October, approximately 3,500 to 5,000 people marched through the streets of Bayonne, leaving from the railway station towards the sub-prefecture. Mariel Garrigos, public prosecutor for Bayonne, notes that "the vast majority of the demonstration took place peacefully and without major incidents", despite some isolated projectile throws and anti-police slogans.
Between 15:30 and 17:00, approximately 500 to 600 demonstrators blocked the A63 motorway slip road for two hours in both directions of traffic, causing damage to signage. From 17:00 onwards, approximately one hundred individuals "highly hostile to law enforcement" began throwing projectiles, mortars, fireworks and glass bottles at security forces.
Prolonged confrontations
The confrontations continued until 22:30. According to the Bayonne prosecutor's office, "security forces came under a sustained barrage of projectile throws of all kinds". Law enforcement personnel made "measured use of force to contain the assailants and prevent them from accessing the sub-prefecture offices".
Nine police officers were injured during this day. All seven of those arrested have been prosecuted for aggravated violence and participation in an armed gathering.
Further disturbances
Additional incidents broke out on 19 October during a movement to blockade secondary schools. Nine arrests were made during these disturbances, and six members of law enforcement were slightly injured according to the departmental police.
On the administrative front, the prefecture recorded 37 arrests in total, including nine in Bayonne, as a result of the events of this day of demonstration.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)