Laurent Imbert 14:31 pm, March 18, 2023

The town hall of the 4th arrondissement of Lyon was vandalized during the night from Friday to Saturday. Tags, broken windows, ransacked offices... The demonstrators left traces of their passage. The next day, elected officials and residents are struggling to understand the reasons that pushed the thugs to attack the public building.

Tags, ransacked offices, broken computers, burnt garbage cans... After a rally against the pension reform, the town hall of the 4th arrondissement of the city of Lyon was vandalized during the night from Friday to Saturday A few hours later, on the local market, the misunderstanding remains general.

Proximity

"We are at the service of the inhabitants, the town hall is proximity. We do people a service by doing civil status certificates, etc. So, it traumatizes the agents who see their work tool destroyed, "explains to the microphone of Europe 1 the mayor of the borough, Rémi Zinck.

Because for the latter, "the borough town hall has no other political face than proximity. So it doesn't make political sense, except to break. And it's totally heartbreaking," he continues, disappointed.

© Laurent Imbert

"It's Macron's law" that poses a problem

A sentiment shared by local residents, who are still struggling to understand the objective of this degradation. "It may be the representation side of the state at the local level" that was targeted, said Zahia, a resident. "But this is just a local representation, and especially not a local representation of Macron. Because currently, it is Macron's law", which poses a problem, she continues, adding that "violence was not justified".

To avoid further damage, the police secure the perimeter around the building, even if the fear of new actions in the city remains very present.