French diners enjoy wine as protesters set fires in the background
Keep calm and carry on: Unfazed French diners enjoy glass of wine with fires still burning in the background as violent protests over pensions rage across the country
- Diners enjoyed wine at Place de la Victoire as fires raged in the Bordeaux streets
- Violence broke out across France last week in opposition to pension reform bill
Diners shared a romantic glass of wine by the fire as demonstrators rallied across France in protest over President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform.
A video posted to TikTok shows couples dining at Place de la Victoire, in the southern wine-growing region of Bordeaux on Thursday, as rioters set fires in the streets.
The diners, chatting away and scrolling on their mobile phones, seem unfazed by the violence erupting near the restaurant.
The footage comes as police and activists fought violent pitched battles across the country last week that saw hundreds of protesters – some armed with machetes, axes and gasoline bombs – oppose the bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Video shared with MailOnline shows couples dinning at Place de la Victoire, in the southern wine-growing region of Bordeaux on Thursday, as rioters set fires in the streets
The diners, chatting away and scrolling on their mobile phones, seem unfazed by the violence erupting around the café
The fire outside the café came after days of violent protests nationwide over President Macron’s pension reform.
Protesters set fire to Bordeaux’s historic town hall ahead last week, but the blaze was quickly put out by firefighters.
The building’s ornate wooden doors were torched as over a million protestors rioted across France.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said ‘far-Left’ rioters have been using mortars to fire explosives at the police amid the intensified violence between security forces and protesters.
Three police vehicles were completely burned out yesterday and multiple officers injured in Sainte-Soline in western France.
A long procession set off late yesterday morning, comprising at least 6,000 people according to local authorities and around 25,000 according to the organisers.
More than 3,000 members of the security forces were deployed, with ‘at least 1,000’ potentially violent activists, including some from Italy, present, officials said.
Apéro au Bistrot Français ! 🇫🇷🥂✨ #france #apero #feu #fire #wine #vin #terrasse #colere #manifestation #retraite #guerre #french #cafe #bar #war #bordeaux
Video footage showed protesters advancing in clouds of tear gas, police vehicles burning and people hurling projectiles at police lines.
Suspected anarchists and other protesters have been recorded setting fire to rubbish, smashing shop windows and launching stones and fireworks at officers.
Mr Darmanin said two critically injured people – one of them a police officer, the other a protester – were transported by helicopter for hospital treatment.
He said 23 police officers and six demonstrators suffered lighter injuries.
But protest organizers said they counted some 200 injured demonstrators, and that about 40 of them had deep cuts they said were caused by police projectiles.
Macron’s government used a controversial executive power to adopt the pensions bill without a parliamentary vote, sparking spontaneous protests in major cities.
In the days since, videos of police actions that appeared on social media appearing to show police knocking over or hitting demonstrators.
The footage comes as police and activists fought violent pitched battles across France last week that saw hundreds of protesters rally against the bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Pictured: Firefighters extinguish rubbish set on fire by protesters in Paris on Thursday
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said ‘far-Left’ rioters have been using mortars to fire explosives at the police amid the intensified violence between security forces and protesters. Pictured: Protests yesterday in Sainte-Soline in western France
Protesters set fire to Bordeaux’s historic town hall ahead last week (pictured), but the blaze was quickly put out by firefighters. The building’s ornate wooden doors were torched as over a million protestors rioted across France
People look at the Bordeaux town hall in flames during a demonstration on Thursday
Criticism from human rights watchdogs mounted on Friday over the alleged brutality of French police in handling protests.
French authorities arrested more than 450 people on Thursday in the most violent day of demonstrations since the start of the year.
In the days leading up to Thursday’s protests, rights groups had expressed worries over what they termed ‘arbitrary’ detentions and the excessive use of force by police.
But security officials have defended their actions, saying they are responding to violent rioters and anarchist groups who frequently infiltrate French demonstrations to provoke clashes.
France’s Human Rights League has accused the authorities of ‘undermining the right of citizens to protest by making disproportionate and dangerous use of public force’.
The Council of Europe – the continent’s leading human rights watchdog – warned that sporadic acts of violence could not justify ‘excessive use of force by agents of the state’.
A long procession set off in in Sainte-Soline late yesterday morning, comprising at least 6,000 people according to local authorities and around 25,000 according to the organisers
More than 3,000 members of the security forces were deployed in Sainte-Soline yesterday
Protesters set fire to rubbish in the streets of Bordeaux on Thursday in a demonstration against pension reform
Protesters stand next to riot police during a demonstration in Paris on Friday
President Macron on Friday condemned the violence and said security forces have worked ‘in an exemplary manner’.
Mr Darmanin said on Friday that 11 internal inquiries had been opened into alleged police brutality in the past week.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez insisted last this week there had been no ‘unjustified’ or ‘preventive’ arrests. But he said security forces did detain people from groups constituted ‘with a view to commit violence’.
He defended the police’s motorbike unit, known as BRAV-M, which critics have called to be disbanded, as being one ‘particularly well adapted to dispersing’ such groups.
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