Events: Macron wants to "eradicate the great violence gradually"

Paris (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron said Monday on France 2 want to "gradually eradicate the great violence" he says he found in the demonstrations of "yellow vests", while wanting to "change the way to ensure security" to "reduce the number of wounded".

Asked during the TV news about the violence that occurred on several Saturdays during the demonstration of "yellow vests", the President of the Republic regretted "scenes of extreme violence against the police, journalists, traders, symbols of our country like the Arc de Triomphe ".

"What our citizens ask is that there is no disorder, the violence of some demonstrators, the + blacks blocks +, disguised what this movement was" yellow "vests, he denounced, reporting to have been "deeply struck".

"I wish we had a collective reflection and a work to eradicate the great violence gradually, that is to say we must be able, with those called the + blacks blocks + - which often were the cause of all that, infiltrating and provoking - that we arrive at a lasting solution, "said Mr. Macron.

He praised the "remarkable work of the police", but conceded that there might have been "mistakes with people who were not violent. Therefore, it is also necessary "to look at how to change the way of providing security to greatly reduce the number of wounded," said the head of state.

In June, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner launched a "necessary" reflection on the maintenance of order, asking about fifteen experts "bold" ideas but continuing to challenge the existence of "violence" police ".

According to the "yellow vests" that organized a "march of the mutilated" in early June, 23 people have been devastated since the beginning of the movement on November 17, five lost the hand, one was amputated a testicle, a lost the smell and a "dozen" demonstrators had other serious injuries (to the jaw, foot ...).

According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior in mid-May, 2,448 wounded were recorded on the demonstrators side and 1,797 among the police, without further details on the severity of injuries.

© 2019 AFP