The police said on Tuesday evening that they had made five arrests “for contempt and violence against persons holding public authority.” The SUD PTT 33 and Solidaires 33 unions denounce “blind and brutal repression”.
Five people were arrested on Tuesday evening during a rally in support of the demonstrators arrested the day before during the May 1 parade in Bordeaux, we learned from the police and the unions.
A “hundred” of demonstrators had gathered from 6 p.m. in front of the central police station of the city. Shortly after 8 p.m., security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd, police said.
“There were five arrests for contempt and violence against persons holding public authority,” said the same source.
For their part, the SUD PTT 33 and Solidaires 33 unions denounce in a press release “a blind and brutal repression on the part of the police”. “It was not bad, it was going well, there were no projectiles thrown”, assured Willy Dhellemmes, representing SUD PTT 33.
“State authoritarianism”
According to him, police “charged with truncheons” the demonstrators present who found themselves “in the middle of cars and tram tracks”, because of “anti-police songs”.
“No police officer was targeted personally. We weren’t attacking people but the police institution. It’s extremely serious,” he castigated, pointing to “state authoritarianism”.
The day before, 23 people, including four minors, were taken into custody during the May 1 demonstration in the Gironde capital, the prosecution said.
Tuesday at the end of the day, “twelve” of them were still in custody, “two adults and a minor will be referred” on Wednesday and “four procedures have been dismissed”, he detailed.
Three other people have been summoned for a hearing at a later date and a minor will also be summoned to the police station after further investigations concerning him.
A total of 540 people were arrested in France, including 305 in Paris, during the May 1 demonstrations, according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. Some 406 police and gendarmes were also injured on national territory.
