Côte-d'Or firefighters said Thursday "angry" after the injury Tuesday, during the national demonstration in Paris, one of their comrades, who may "lose his eye," told AFP a union official. The injured firefighter received a projectile in one eye, but "he does not know if it was a tear gas grenade" that would have broken his visor "or a de-encircling grenade", according to Matthieu Brégand, president of the Autonomous Union of Professional Fire Departments from Côte-d'Or.
A planned complaint
The 50-year-old Chief Warrant Officer, currently hospitalized in Paris and operated on Wednesday, risks "losing his eye," said Brégand, who said the Côte-d'Or firefighters are "angry." ". "There will be a complaint," which should be done at the level of the national federation of firefighters, announced Mr. Brégand. According to the trade unionist, "a shower of tear gas" fell on Tuesday on firefighters, including about 80 from Côte-d'Or, who were waiting for buses at the end of the demonstration. "I do not want the police, I want the decision makers who gave the order," added Matthieu Brégand.
He also denounced recent threats of sanctions emanating from the management, including a suppression of advancements. "No sanction has been taken," defended AFP the Departmental Fire and Rescue Department of Côte-d'Or (SDIS 21), who said he wanted to "return to normal operation of the service". He did not, however, rule out any consequences on the agents' advancement, in the event of continuing what he described as "illegal strike situations". The SDIS 21 confirmed this eye injury, Thursday in a statement, but said ignore the "circumstances in which these facts have taken place" and "the state of health" of his agent.
Thousands of firefighters marched Tuesday in Paris to denounce the lack of staff and recognition of their profession, during a national event that ended in clashes with the police. The march brought together between 7,000 to 10,000 people, according to the nine unions of the profession, who had all called for mobilization.