Black blocs france
#Black blocs france free
As Marshall (1993: x) notes, the radical implications of anarchism have not been lost on rulers (of the Left or Right) or ruled, “filling rulers with fear, since they might be made obsolete, and inspiring the dispossessed and the thoughtful with hope since they can imagine a time when they might be free to govern themselves.” There is no surprise, of course, that rulers should so desire to construct anarchists as nihilistic fanatics for they question the very legitimacy of rulership itself. Some contemporary anarchists choose as an element of style to play up this image, dressing entirely in black and printing “zines” with such titles as “The Blast” 1 and “Agent 2771.” 2 In the popular imagination the spectre of anarchy still conjures notions of terror, chaos, destruction and the collapse of civilization (Marshall, 1993). Novels such as Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent and Frank Harris’ The Bomb have kept the character of the fanatic alive. Some of the most striking images from this history are the caricatures of black trenchcoat wearing “bomb throwers” who owe their fame to activities at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Indeed, anarchism has a long history of direct conflict with State institutions and their defenders. "We shouldn't still need to be on the street one year on," said Priscillia Ludosky, an entrepreneur whose online petition against high fuel prices helped kick off the movement, told the Regards news site.That anarchists should run afoul of the authorities is hardly surprising. The most prominent figures in the movement, which has explicitly shunned any formal leadership structure, acknowledge the declining numbers but say the authorities' response has not been sufficient. Police were deployed in numbers, especially along the Champs-Elysees, which was again closed off to demonstrators following the ransacking of shops that followed a protest last March.įrance has a long tradition of violent protest, but the ferocity of last winter's demonstrations and allegations of police brutality shocked the country.Ī poll by the Elabe institute published Wednesday said 55 percent of French people support or have sympathy for the yellow vests, although 63 percent said they do not want the protests to begin in earnest again. "We're here even if Macron doesn't like it," demonstrators chanted as they arrived on the outskirts of Paris Saturday, with others singing "Happy Birthday". The yellow vests want the actions on Saturday - their usual day of protest - and also Sunday, the anniversary day, to remind Macron they have not vanished from the scene. Police also fired tear gas in the Les Halles area, near the famed Pompidou Centre museum, to break up demonstrations.Ī Yellow Vest protester on November 16, 2019, one year after the protests started. "It's pathetic that the demonstration was banned," said Catherine Van Puymbroeck, 49. Police arrested 147 people across Paris by 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), of whom 129 were in custody.Įarlier in the afternoon, Paris police chief Didier Lallement had banned the Place d'Italie demonstration, condemning the "damage and the systematic attacks against the security forces and the fire brigade". Several demonstrators and a freelance journalist were injured.
#Black blocs france full
Police in full riot gear flooded the area in tear gas and used water cannons after demonstrators threw stones, set rubbish bins alight, overturned cars and set them ablaze, AFP correspondents said.Ī major shopping centre in the area closed its doors after dozens of protesters threw stones at the windows of a neighbouring hotel. Tensions focused on the Place d'Italie square in southeast Paris. The interior ministry put the number of demonstrators at 28,600 nationwide but the organisers said nearly 40,000 people had rallied. Numbers attending the protests and levels of violence have sharply diminished from the height of the movement, which began on the back of frustration Macron was failing to address the needs of ordinary French people.īut Saturday's protests - which demonstrators called "Act 53" of their weekly gatherings - marked the first serious clashes for months in central Paris between security forces and demonstrators.
REUTERS/Charles PlatiauĪccording to some observers, the debris from the monument was used as projectiles that were thrown at police.Ĭlashes also broke out in other French cities as activists rallied to prove their movement is still a force a year after the first giant protest on November 17, 2018, which drew 282,000 people. Police at the Place d'Italie in Paris on November 16, 2019, the first anniversary of the Yellow Vest protests.