VIDEO - Paris: incidents at the Gare de Lyon in connection with the concert of a Congolese star

Enamelled incidents of vehicle fires erupted Friday at the end of the day in Paris on the sidelines of a prohibited demonstration of opponents to the concert of the Congolese singer Fally Ipupa in Bercy, leading to the partial evacuation of the Gare de Lyon. "The police are intervening to stop the demonstration," said the Paris police headquarters, referring in particular to trash and vehicle fires. These gave off thick black smoke. The underground part of the station was evacuated as a precaution, said SNCF.

23 arrests, 54 people fined

The Paris firefighters have "brought the fire under control, which is being extinguished", explained the prefecture around 6.30pm. She also denounced the "scandalous behavior" of demonstrators hampering the action of the rescuers. At 7:10 p.m., 23 people had been arrested and 54 fined, she added. On site, around 6.30 p.m., a dozen fire trucks extinguished the last fires. There was a very strong smell of burning around the station, where around thirty vehicles were completely charred, mostly scooters. Traffic was interrupted on RER D.

A RATP bus targeted near the Gare de Lyon. pic.twitter.com/FiG0FQ2LAT

At the end of the day, tension was still high between the support of the singer and Congolese political opponents, with many invective between the two camps.

A concert that aroused the authorities' concern

Scheduled from 8 p.m. at the AccorHotels Arena, the former Palais Omnisports Paris-Bercy, the concert of Fally Ipupa, accused by opponents of being close to ex-President Joseph Kabila and his successor Félix Tshisekedi, raised the authorities' concern. Seven declared demonstrations had been banned and the first arrests began at midday in the Bercy sector. "With their music, they are taking an entire people on their side while they slaughter and rape women and children," protested an opponent, Willy Dendebe, disgusted by the holding of the concert. "I've been here for 30 years because of them! 30 years and we let them happen here in France as if nothing had happened. So yes we are angry!"

The concert of @ fallyipupa01 promises to be very compromised. The #combattans denouncing for several years the silence of Congolese personalities and artists, on the geopolitical situation of #RDCONGO, express their "dissatisfaction" around # bercy # garedelyon # FallyIpupapic.twitter.com / ZMAA5u2Y4V

Fan of the singer and coming from Belgium expressly, Lwangi Bienvenu contemplated the disorder from his hotel near the Gare de Lyon. "It's a shame, he's a Congolese, we should all be behind him," he said. "We are going to talk badly about us. They put people in danger and they will surely cancel the concert."