Will there be people in the street? Around 30,000 people are expected on Saturday September 23 in several cities in France during around 80 demonstrations “against systemic racism, police violence and for public freedoms”, at the call of associations of working-class neighborhoods and victims of police violence, unions and left-wing political organizations. Peaceful gatherings have already taken place in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), Saint Etienne (Loire), Valves (Morbihan), or even Clermont-Ferrand (Puy de Dome). In Paris, the march will leave at 2:30 p.m. from the Gare du Nord. Follow our live stream.
Why these demonstrations? This call to demonstrate comes after the death of young Nahel under the bullets of a police officer in June in Nanterre and after the riots which followed this death. “We must break with the principle of ever fewer and ever more armed police officers”, estimated Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT, on franceinfo. The union leader calls for restoring trust between the police and the population.
Public order disturbances to be expected? According to a territorial intelligence note consulted by franceinfo, risks of clashes are to be feared in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), where an anti-drug rally near the unitary march is organized by the ultra-right. In total, 30,000 police and gendarmes are mobilized, including “a little more than 1,000 police officers” in Paris, according to the police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, interviewed on franceinfo.
The Minister of the Interior displays his firmness. Gérald Darmanin sent a letter of support to the police and gendarmes on Friday and sent a telegram to the prefects, calling on them to “exercise particular vigilance regarding these gatherings”, to issue a ban order if necessary and to report the messages “carriers of insulting and outrageous slogans” towards the police.