Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has decided to send police reinforcements to Rennes, his ministry said on Friday. The scene of violent clashes on Thursday evening, the Breton capital will soon host the CR8, a unit specializing in maintaining order and combating urban violence. “She should arrive during the day, we have been confirmed”, assures this policeman from Rennes who met near the demonstration this Friday. Organized by the inter-union, the consecutive rally attracted between 2,600 people (according to the prefecture) and 5,000 people (according to the unions). The demonstrators marched calmly, shouting their opposition to the pension reform and the use of 49.3.
Thursday evening, the rally scheduled for 7 p.m. in Place Sainte-Anne ended in violent clashes between demonstrators and police. To the mortar fire and the throwing of projectiles, the police and gendarmes responded by firing tear gas. Facing very mobile young people, the police had great difficulty in containing the violence. Many businesses were vandalized and a clothing store was looted. Garbage cans on fire were also positioned in front of the wooden doors of the town hall, raising fears of a fire in the building. “Our city cannot be abandoned to the violence of thugs,” said PS mayor Nathalie Appéré, reiterating her requests for police reinforcements from the Ministry of the Interior. It seems that she has been heard.
Thursday evening, thirteen people were taken into custody after the violence in Rennes. Clashes were also reported in Paris, Nantes and Lyon. Just over 300 people were arrested in France on Thursday, including 250 in Paris, according to the Interior Ministry.