INTERVIEW
"We have a record that is satisfactory, because we did not have any injuries among the demonstrators and the police, and not a lot of goods that were degraded," said Christophe Rouget. Asked by Europe 1 after the three Paris demonstrations on Saturday - the "yellow vests", the one against the pension reform and the March for the climate -, the Police Commander and Deputy Secretary General of the Union of the cadres of Internal Security (SCSI) praised the work of the police, while denouncing the infiltration of "thugs" in peaceful processions.
"We managed to contain these protesters, but at what price?" Asks Christophe Rouget first. "7,500 police officers have been requisitioned since early this morning, the service has worked well, there has been a lot of prevention, preflight checks, many dangerous objects have been seized. set up movement strategies to get around those black blocks that may have formed but were quickly dissolved. " According to the police headquarters in Paris, 163 people were arrested in Paris at 6 pm on Saturday.
"These are people who come only to break"
Asked about the presence of radical protesters of the ultra-left and "yellow vests" in the procession for the climate, evaluated to a thousand people by the police headquarters, the commander believes that "there is almost more black blocks: these are yellow blocks that we have today, people who try to infiltrate classical events and who prevent people from demonstrating (...) These are people who only come to break. "
"There are climate protests that have been held in perfect calm, for example in Toulouse yesterday, and we find ourselves there with people who prevent people from demonstrating and who commit damage", still laments the union leader . "It's really related to the type of protesters, when you have people who want to fight, (...) it's no longer freedom to demonstrate, they are delinquents. (...) It will be necessary "We are changing our summons, so that honest people, people who demonstrate correctly can leave and do not protect these thugs."