The largest security operation in recent French history is taking place today to combat rioters seeking to bring ‘fire and blood’ to the streets – days after a state visit by King Charles was canceled due to the violence.
Gérald Darmanin, the country’s interior ministry, said on Tuesday it would represent an “unprecedented effort” by law enforcement.
Up to a million people are expected to take part in marches against President Emmanuel Macron raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote.
“Radicalized elements of the left and ultra-left want to hijack the union marches,” Darmanin said.
“Their aim is to bring fire and blood to France,” he added, saying 13,000 police and gendarmes would be mobilized, 5,500 of them in Paris alone. They will be supported by armored cars, water cannons and military units in reserve.
The largest security operation in recent French history will take place today to fight rioters seeking to bring “fire and blood” to the streets as protests against Macron’s pension increase continue. Pictured: Riot police arrested a protester in Paris last week
Gérald Darmanin, the country’s interior ministry, said on Tuesday it would represent an “unprecedented effort” by law enforcement. Pictured: Riot police run past burning wooden pallets in the streets of Paris
Protesters set up a burning barricade over the tracks at a train station during a demonstration in Brittany, western France, on March 28.
“The Home Office services are anticipating very high risks of public disorder,” said Darmanin, who made British headlines last year when he and other French officials falsely blamed Liverpool Football Club fans for the problems with the public in the run-up to the Champions League. League final in Paris in May.
The trouble on the day has since been blamed on poor policing, with Mr Darmanin and other officials criticized for falsely accusing Liverpool fans of unrest.
“More than 1,000 radical elements, some of them from abroad,” will target “Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Nantes, Dijon, Bordeaux” and other cities, Darmanin said during Tuesday’s planned protests.
The most feared group is Black Bloc – an alliance of anarchists from all over Europe, who are expected to be on their feet.
Laurent Nunez, president of the Prefecture de Police in Paris, told France Inter radio that security services believed more violent people could join the protests and that police should be on hand.
“We’re talking about individuals who are often under surveillance by intelligence agencies … and we’re very vigilant about their presence,” Nunez said.
King Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, were supposed to be in Bordeaux today as part of a four-day state visit to France, but that was dramatically halted on Friday.
Attacks included an attempt to set fire to the city hall in the southwestern city, where unions had pledged to barrack the royal couple.
The protest movement is the biggest domestic crisis of Macron’s second term in office, with Tuesday’s strikes also hitting refineries, garbage collection services, rail transport, air travel and schools.
Up to a million people are expected to take part in marches against President Emmanuel Macron raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote. Pictured: French riot police confront protesters in Bordeaux, southwest France
Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Paris earlier this month
Laurent Nunez, president of the Prefecture de Police in Paris, told France Inter radio that security services believed more violent people could join the protests and that police should be on hand. Pictured: Riot police watch as protesters march in Paris
Workers hold banners and union flags as they block the entrance to the Musee du Louvre to denounce the government’s controversial pension reform, in Paris, on March 27
The Louvre in Paris was blocked by strikers, while strikes continued at petrol depots and waste incinerators, particularly around the capital, where 10,000 tons of rubbish still pile up.
Dozens of railway workers marched with flags and flares along the tracks outside Gare de Lyon – one of Paris’ main train stations, while highways in several other French cities were blocked on Tuesday morning.
About 17 percent of all filling stations in France were missing at least one product on Monday night, the French petroleum association UFIP said, citing data from France’s energy ministry.
Students’ union UNEF said entrances to about 20 universities, including Sciences Po and parts of the Sorbonne in Paris, as well as institutions in Lyon, Nice and Toulouse, were also blocked.
The crisis has intensified as lawyers complain of excessive force and arbitrary arrests by paramilitary police teams.
A 30-year-old man was battling for his life in a coma on Tuesday after being repeatedly hit in the head with a police gun during a riot over the weekend.
Darmanin, for his part, said that “many police officers have been seriously injured” during the protests.
Despite the violence and industrial paralysis, Mr Macron and his prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, said there was no chance of a backslide on key pension reforms. “We have to find the right way,” said Mrs. Borne. “We need to calm down.”
Pictured: Rioters walk around a towering blaze in Bordeaux as police officers stand guard
Pictured: A riot police officer is hit by fireworks in Paris last week during protests and riots
Pictured: Protesters are chased in Paris last week by riot police officers brandishing batons
But Laurent Berger, the head of the moderate union CFDT, said protests would continue until a turnaround came.
Millions of people have largely peacefully demonstrated and taken part in strike action since mid-January to show their opposition to Macron’s plans to give most of them an extra two years of work to age 64.
But public frustration has evolved into broader anti-Macron sentiment.
Protests have intensified since the government used special constitutional powers almost two weeks ago to bypass parliament in a final vote on the pension bill, sparking chaos reminiscent of unrest by supporters of the yellow vest movement during Macron’s first term as president.