Europe 1 with AFP 13:30 p.m., March 30, 2023
"Thousands of people" had "simply come to make war" in Sainte-Soline, said Thursday Emmanuel Macron during his trip, as part of the revelation of his "Water Plan". Last weekend, very violent clashes took place between the police and the demonstrators, around the mega-basin of Sainte-Soline."Thousands of people" had "simply come to make war" in Sainte-Soline, said Thursday Emmanuel Macron traveling in the Hautes-Alpes to present a plan to improve water management.
'Unacceptable scenes of violence'
"You have thousands of people who had simply come to make war. This is unacceptable," said the head of state while the banned demonstration on Saturday against the mega-basin of Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres), was punctuated by very violent clashes between activists and police with two protesters still in a coma.
The president denounced "scenes of unacceptable violence" on the side of the demonstrators. "For some a form of habit of violence settles, it must be fought with great firmness," he commented, asking "all republican political forces to be perfectly clear on this subject."
"Immoderate use" of force?
From 6,000 to 8,000 people according to the authorities, 30,000 according to the organizers, demonstrated Saturday. In two reports, the prefecture and gendarmerie defend a targeted and proportionate response to 800 to 1,000 "radical" demonstrators.
On the contrary, the Human Rights League denounces "an immoderate use" of force on all demonstrators, as soon as they have approached the water reserve. Organizers said 200 people were injured, including at least one person who was blinded in addition to the two protesters in a coma. The families of the two men filed a complaint for "attempted murder".