A bonfire was lit on May 19 at Place Sainte-Anne in Rennes, forcing the police to intervene. – David Vincent / AP / SIPA
They were several hundred, probably a thousand, gathered on the Place Sainte-Anne. Wednesday evening, the police had to intervene on the festive place of Rennes to disperse hundreds of revelers around 10 p.m., braving the curfew shifted to 9 p.m. The Place Sainte-Anne, like the nearby rue Saint-Michel (famous rue de la Soif), had already been stormed in the afternoon to take advantage of the reopening of the bar terraces. Some did not seem ready to stop the party when the bars closed.
A large fire fueled by pallets was even lit in the middle of the square, forcing firefighters to intervene. A few garbage bins and various materials fires were also put out on rue du Champ-Jacquet. “We expected it a little, we knew that there was excitement with the reopening of the terraces,” said the firefighters. There were no injuries, according to the same source.
The police also had to attend. Tear gas was fired to disperse the crowd “in response to projectile fire”, corroborating sources have learned.
Large “bonfire” with pallets on place Sainte-Anne in Rennes while the curfew has been in effect for 1 hour now #Deconfinement pic.twitter.com/Xil5DWy7Cv
– France Bleu Armorique (@bleuarmorique) May 19, 2021
At 9 p.m., the new curfew time, the crowd did not disperse. “There was a pallet fire around 9:45 pm, with people who had returned to the church site and climbed onto sheds, requiring the intervention of the police. It lasted an hour, ”said a duty officer from the Rennes police station.
The images of our colleagues have been highly commented on on social networks. A good number of Internet users are indignant at this “savage” gathering. Others denounce the intervention of the police.