French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reported “457 arrests” on Friday and “441 police officers and gendarmes injured” on Thursday in France during the 9th day of anti-pension reform mobilization.
Speaking to Cnews, the minister also said there were “903 street furniture or garbage can fires” during the anti-union demonstration in Paris on Thursday.
As on Thursday evening at the Paris police headquarters, the minister underlined the “radicalization” of the demonstrators by pointing the finger at the violence of the “extreme left”.
“The extreme left wants to attack the republic,” he said, believing that “a collective message of condemnation” was needed.
He was surprised at the lack of political response to the number of police officers and gendarmes injured, “a few thousand” since the fight against pension reform began. There is “a national sport to defame the police and gendarmes”.
“The country needs to wake up and condemn the extreme left and the rebels. They are few in number, but they are extremely violent,” he continued.
Referring to the black blocs, “thugs” whose number was estimated at “1,500” at Thursday’s Paris procession, Mr Darmanin ruled that they should be called the “black citizens” because they are “people of good family”. .
He judged that if the latter could “kill” a policeman or a gendarme, “they would be happy”.
The minister underscored the “impressive” work done by the police to “avoid one fatality”. “There were no fatalities, no serious injuries,” continued the minister, who, however, mentioned the case of a demonstrator seriously injured in Rouen (North), in conditions that have not yet been clarified.