A demonstration against the holding of a meeting by the far-right candidate Eric Zemmour gathered this Saturday afternoon some 1,100 people according to the prefecture. The tension rose from the start of the procession, several hundred meters from the place of the meeting, bringing together “antifa” activists, left, trade unionists and students, noted AFP journalists. Among them, some 200 “ultras”, according to a police source.
The security forces very quickly fired sporadic tear gas, in particular to disperse a group of about twenty demonstrators, all dressed in black, trying to prevent the police from extracting one of them. them. The police also intervened to seize the head banner, proclaiming “Faire Bloc will put them on their knees”, after a start of stoning of the ranks of the mobile gendarmes, indicated a police source adding that three arrests were made. The journalist from Raw Rémy Buisine was on site and posted images of the scuffles on Twitter.
1,100 people
The demonstrators had just set off for their course in the city center, away from the place of the Zemmour meeting, behind a banner proclaiming “Make a Block – Put them on their knees” and under slogans “Everyone hates Zemmour”. The CGT activists present took the lead of the procession, initially led by a few dozen demonstrators dressed in black and appearing as ready to fight.
This second demonstration brought together 1,100 people, including some 200 from the ultra-left, according to the police. Between 250 and 300 members of the police were mobilized to “prevent any risk of excesses and clashes”, according to a police source. At the beginning of the afternoon, the police had made three arrests among the “antifa” demonstrators.
Zemmour “not welcome in Lille”
This demonstration follows a first rally which brought together 500 people according to the prefecture in the morning, in the presence of the PS mayor, Martine Aubry, to say “No to racism, no to the far right” at the call of SOS-racism.
“Zemmour has the right to express himself but we have the right and the duty to come together to say that we are fighting everything he is, what he says, his theses”, declared the city councilor Nordic, adding “that he is not welcome in Lille”, according to images captured by BFM TV.
Eric Zemmour holds this Saturday afternoon at the meeting at the Grand Palais in Lille, for what he hopes will be a show of force. Around 8,000 supporters are expected there.