September 10 blockades, live: tension and scenes of violence in Paris, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble
The essentials:
- This Wednesday, September 10, 100,000 participants in the movement are expected across France, mobilized for blockades, sabotage, and demonstrations. A force of 80,000 law enforcement officers has been deployed by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.
- Calls for blocking roads, roundabouts, and even strategic sites depending on the location are increasing. A ban on the use of bank cards to target banks, "free toll" and "free trolley" operations, and even a ban on supermarkets are planned.
- Disruptions are already being reported across the country. A blockade is underway near Nantes airport, and attempted blockades have been thwarted in Bordeaux and Paris. Furthermore, near the port of Le Havre, the first blockades have begun with barriers and banners to block the route and slow traffic. Finally, police are being mobilized in Lyon to unblock traffic on the Gallieni Bridge.
- According to the Paris police prefecture, law enforcement officers made 73 arrests in the Paris region. The Brav-M was deployed at Porte de Bagnolet, west of the capital, according to BFMTV. The Paris ring road is also blocked at Porte de la Chapelle, with protesters bursting onto the roads with smoke bombs. Several fires were also set.
- Strikes, blockades, rallies... Find below the map of all the mobilizations planned for this September 10 across France.
Live
In Lyon, 100 people blocked the Feyssine roundabout after a roadblock. Law enforcement officers "used appropriate means to disperse hostile protesters who were blocking traffic on the University Bridge and the quays," the regional prefecture said.
Students attempted to blockade the Hélène Boucher high school in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. There, clashes broke out between protesters and police. The demonstrators used tear gas and were forced to retreat in the face of the threat.
Clashes are reportedly underway at Porte de la Chapelle. Several videos are circulating on social media showing protesters at the Porte de la Chapelle barrier being hit with batons by police during an intervention on Wednesday, September 10.
In Marseille, "several hundred people are gathered at Place de la Joliette, knocking over trash cans and playing a game of cat and mouse with the police officers facing them," reveals BFMTV. Traffic is therefore disrupted in several areas of the Phocaean city. The youths are sometimes "masked, they are small, highly mobile groups, carrying out sporadic actions, making police checks difficult," the news channel specifies.
According to a report from France 3 Occitanie, "clashes between protesters and police officers occurred" in the Jolimont district of the pink city "as early as 6:30 a.m. this morning." According to witnesses on the scene, "around 200 people gathered to block the roundabout located next to the metro station by setting up barricades. Police quickly intervened, notably using tear gas," we learned.
In Poitiers (Vienne), police are evacuating protesters on the A10 motorway at the Poitiers center exit, exit 30 (Poitiers south). The A10 motorway was closed in both directions between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. At 7:40 a.m., "no vehicles were circulating between Poitiers South and Poitiers North; motorists were asked to exit at Saint Maixent l'École and Poitiers North," ICI Poitou reports.
Learn more:
The September 10 movement, structured on the website indignonsnous.fr , will consist of several actions led by local collectives based "mainly on associative and political activists, some notably from the ultra-left movement and certain union factions," according to territorial intelligence. The organization of the mobilizations is essentially done through encrypted messaging on Telegram or Signal "with separate channels for each local section," all listed on a map on the website Indignons-nous .
Concerning the actions, they are multiple. Calls to block roads, roundabouts, and also strategic sites depending on the location have multiplied in recent days. Among the targets are the Prado tunnel in Marseille, the Rennes ring road, the port of Le Havre, and several refineries in the country (and perhaps the ring roads and ring roads of other French cities), and numerous roundabouts throughout France. These actions are reminiscent of those of the Yellow Vests in November 2018. In addition to the blockades, some actions call for "protest barbecues" in front of institutional sites, such as in Lille, which organized a militant banquet in front of the Financial Center. Intelligence services have also observed a mobilization of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as left-wing movements motivated by calls to join the movement launched by elected officials from the Insoumis, Socialists, and Greens. Conversely, the right and far right have not joined the September 10th movement.
The September 10th mobilization must also include actions that are not very quantifiable or visible, linked to the boycott call launched by the "Block Everything" movement: stopping the use of bank cards to target banks, "free toll" operations on roads and "free trolleys" or desertion in supermarkets. A boycott to which are added calls for civil disobedience, but also numerous demonstrations. While intelligence officials expect more blockade actions than traditional demonstrations on public roads "not very popular with protesters," several dozen cities are seeing calls for rallies being organized. A map of the mobilizations lists a good part of the planned actions, in all their forms. "Actions are being prepared "in all parts of the territory, in villages as well as in large cities," according to intelligence.
The September 10th protests could be more widely followed than the blockades, because while the movement enjoys public support, according to a Toluna-Harris Interactive poll for RTL published Friday, August 22nd, a majority prefer "demonstrations to protest the government's budget." While 63% of those surveyed say they support the movement, 58% are in favor of "blocking the country" on September 10th, and 70% favor traditional gatherings.
Retailleau's anti-overflow plan for September 10Faced with this mobilization, supported by diverse movements and devoid of "clearly identified leadership," the authorities fear that "the lack of structured coordination" will lead to excesses. "The lack of channeling increases the risk of actions by radical and violent groups," they warn. The Ministry of the Interior has therefore taken measures to regulate the September 10th movement and sent a note, which Le Figaro was able to consult, indicating the "conduct to adopt in the face of potential disturbances to public order": "Any attempt to block infrastructure essential to the life of the Nation must be hindered in advance and, if necessary, systematically unblocked as quickly as possible," announces the tenant of Place Beauvau. In the event of damage to public buildings, Bruno Retailleau promises "systematic arrests" to "present them to the judicial authorities."
The minister listed areas that would require particular surveillance: "stations, ports, airports, public transport, major roads, oil depots, logistics platforms, power plants, waste incineration plants or water treatment sites, as well as the country's main supply centers such as the Rungis national interest market." Equipment such as speed cameras, or certain sites likely to "embody capitalism" will also be the subject of particular attention. The mission is announced: "gridding of public roads" and "control of strategic points identified by the intelligence services" in order to intervene quickly.
L'Internaute
