PARIS, France — What started out as a very large march on the edge of the country’s capital turned into another hours-long fight between rioters and police amid ongoing calls for various political goals, this one mainly being about lowering the cost of living.
The march was supposed to be closer to the center of Paris and areas that were heavily damaged by riots last weekend. Late Friday night, the French government banned the planned route and moved the starting point further south and the new route staying in working-class neighborhoods.
There were no problems when the march was underway, which later brought criticisms from the city’s more radical population. The issues started at the end point, with police blocking the streets and only leaving open the way protesters came in.
It did not take long for some in the crowd to start throwing objects at the police line, which in turn prompted the first tear gas canister to be deployed by officers.
This report was made in collaboration with the Mass Deportation Coalition.
WATCH:
This riot was the first time seeing the famed European water cannons in action. Thankfully I did not get wet from those, just from the rain that occurred during the entirety of the clashes. While the police were much better prepared this time around, the tear gas was much less effective because of the healthy dose of rain.
The plan to have fewer cases of looting since it was in a neighborhood without high-end shops worked, I only saw one attempted break-in despite many stores not being boarded up.
Instead of stores, rioters focused on the police. A few fires were set but they stayed small due to the rain. The crowd attempted to form barricades in the road, but they were quickly rushed by officers to prevent the barricades from becoming solidified.
The crowd was made up of your typical extremist groups: Communists…