On the sidelines of Emmanuel Macron's trip to Lyon, several thousand people demonstrated in a tense atmosphere on Monday afternoon to protest against the pension reform while paying tribute to the resistance fighters of the Second World War.
The President of the Republic took part in a ceremony at the Memorial of the Montluc prison in Lyon, where Jean Moulin and other figures of the Resistance were detained.
Contained at a good distance, some 3,000 people according to the prefecture, 5,000 according to the CGT, took part in the demonstration enamelled with tear gas and some damage: windows of the door of the town hall of the district broken, like windows of cars and several bus shelters, burning pallets, noted AFP journalists. The windows of a bank were also destroyed, according to social media.
The Rhône prefecture having prohibited any gathering in a large perimeter around the memorial, the participants marched along the edge of the prohibited zone, while the police forces deployed in large numbers repelled any attempt to incursion into the prohibited zone by shooting. tear gas, according to AFP journalists.
"The Resistance concerns everyone, it's not normal that we can't attend the tribute ceremonies in Montluc", confided among the demonstrators Jean-Pierre Mestat, a 74-year-old retiree. "People are angry. If we want to bring down the anger, we have to act differently."
The administrative court of Lyon had rejected in the morning an appeal for interim relief filed the day before by unions, including the CGT du Rhône, against the prefectural ban on demonstrating near the memorial where the president paid tribute to the Resistance and especially to Jean Moulin.
The CGT maintained its "call to commemorate the social work of the Resistance", like FO, the PCF, an inter-union education and other organizations.
"May 8: to commemorate the resistance is to defend its conquests! Hands off our pensions!", proclaimed one of the many banners displayed by the demonstrators.
The march brought together people with different profiles and of all ages: trade unionists raising their flags, people with saucepans - which have become a symbolic object of the protests against the pension reform -, and a few dozen young people dressed all in black.
It had started in a good-natured atmosphere around 2:00 p.m. in front of barriers erected by the police. Around 5 p.m., the demonstrators gathered in a square not far from the edge of the perimeter before dispersing under the close surveillance of the police.
"This police system is undemocratic. We are reaching a limit there. It is contemptuous for the people", protested Charlotte Abalé Gnahoré, 36-year-old costume designer and contract teacher, also up against the recently adopted pension reform.
"Macron's policy goes against what the resistance fighters fought and died for. It's a shame for our country and for democracy," she said.
"Macron doesn't want to see us, he told the cops throw them out, eject them. He has no empathy," protested Cathy Smadja, a 59-year-old bus driver.
At the end of the march, the prefecture told AFP that it had identified three arrests, for damage and throwing projectiles.
08/05/2023 18:49:24 - Lyon (AFP) © 2023 AFP
