The CGT was violently attacked at the end of the parade of 1er-May, Saturday in Paris. In a press release issued in the evening, the confederation indicated that 21 of its militants had been injured, “Including four serious”. Hospitalized, the latter left on Sunday. “Homophobic, sexist, racist insults preceded acts of vandalism of the vehicles of the organizations”, detailed the central, evoking “An unleashing of blows and throwing projectiles” from“A large group of individuals, some of whom claim to be “yellow vests” “. “The CGT was particularly targeted”, according to the union. A survey for “Voluntary violence” and “Degradations” in a meeting was opened, the Paris prosecutor’s office reported on Sunday (May 2nd).
It was on arriving at Place de la Nation, late Saturday afternoon, that the incidents broke out. On its route, the parade, which brought together at the call of the CGT, Force Ouvrière, Solidaires and the FSU between 17,000 and 25,000 people according to the sources, had already been punctuated by some tensions between law enforcement and black blocks in particular. Result: for nearly two hours, the demonstration was blocked at the Saint-Ambroise metro. The procession, also festive to celebrate this International Workers’ Day, ended up restarting to reach its point of dispersion. But around 6 p.m., when the CGT troops entered Place de la Nation, several of their vans were targeted.
“An atmosphere of lynching”
Of “CGT collaborators” as well as other insults. On the front line at that time, Valérie Lesage, secretary general of the CGT regional union in Ile-de-France, still said to herself “A little shaken”. “The avenue where we had to exit was blocked by the police, she says. This is where the first wave of violence fell, some were armed with sticks, others threw projectiles, still others tried to destroy the vans. “ The balloon of the vehicle of the CGT of Yvelines was torn off before being burned. “There were clashes because comrades came to defend the vans”, continues Mme The wise man.
Karl Ghazi, spokesperson for CGT-Commerce, portrays “An atmosphere of lynching”. ” It was horrible “, he blurted out. “We were going towards the exit which appeared on the declaration [de manifestation] but the cops only let one truck pass and blocked from the second, he says. It was then that the activists began to be physically challenged. [Des individus] were trying to get into the vehicles, they snatched “trophies” like the CGT Roissy plane and they pissed off some in the trucks. “
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