May Day Protests France

[Halifax Tar]

Sounds like things were a little sporting in France yesterday.

Violence erupts during French May Day protests

Nearly 300 protesters arrested as more than 100 police officers wounded during protests against pension reform.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Protesting in France is a legitimate art form

 

[Remius]

Protesting in France is a legitimate art form

So is the police response lol

 

[mariomike]

I've seen video of French police ( using their truck mounted water cannons ) and firefighters using their engine "deck guns" having water fights.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I've seen video of French police ( using their truck mounted water cannons ) and firefighters using their engine "deck guns" having water fights.

I watch water cannons at work in Peru. We need some of them here in Vancouver.

 

[mariomike]

We need some of them here in Vancouver.

“Some day, a real rain will come...”

Neighbourhood deck gun "street sweeping".

 

[OldSolduer]

I watch water cannons at work in Peru. We need some of them here in Vancouver.

We used a fire hose on an inmate once. The cold high pressure water took all the fight out of him. Asshole that he was....

 

[Dana381]

A very rebellious 10 year old can be 'cooled off' quickly with fully clothed cold shower.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

A very rebellious 10 year old can be 'cooled off' quickly with fully clothed cold shower.

Huh.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Down at the washracks in Yakima on a very hot day, having a waterfight with the crew of a airport firetruck. That "uh oh" moment when they got into their truck and smiled, next thing we are ass over teakettle as the monitor swept over us.

 

[mariomike]

This month in France.

For any Speed (1994 film) fans.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1674694704191922176

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Riot season is back

 

[brihard]

A young Algerian man was shot by police while appearing to attempt to flee a traffic stop. The video doesn’t show a good angle for me to be able to give an opinion on if the officer can really say he was in danger… But he was standing off to the side, and it doesn’t appear he was hurt when the car did in fact flee and drive forward, so a ‘shot to protect myself’ defense will have an uphill battle. The officer has been arrested for ‘homicide’. I don’t know the nuances of a French law nor have I any greater specifics.

France has constantly simmering racial and social tensions, and the Algerian diaspora has been on the wrong end of a lot of shit for many years. I suspect this is a spark igniting a powder keg situation.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Nice! A May Day demonstration still ongoing on 30 June. Who said they were surrender monkeys?

On another note, I really, really wish North America would start using water cannons.

Or these: (note the date in the narrative)

 

[RangerRay]

I get the feeling that French police have different standards than ours in North America and/or the Anglosphere.

I know “anecdote does not equal data”, but a few years ago when in Paris, I saw this little Ford Fiesta cop car roll up on some guy walking down a street off the Champs Élysées. Four big cops hopped out of the Fiesta (how they fit in there is beyond me) and they laid the boots to this guy without any warning or pretext. A minute later, a paddy-wagon rolled up and he was unceremoniously tossed in. The tourists looked shocked; those who appeared to be locals carried on like it was Tuesday.

 

[Quirky]

This wasn't protesting, this was domestic terrorism. France is getting the full brunt of what it means to be diverse, you don't import tens of thousands of young men from north africa and the middle east and expect to live in harmony.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Apparently issues in Switzerland as well. Also an attack on a Mayors home.

France riots ease as mayors hold anti-violence rally

French mayors denounce "extreme violence" of the protests which swept the country for almost a week.

www.bbc.com

Seven arrested in Swiss city for vandalism inspired by French riots

More than a hundred young people gathered in the city centre of Lausanne on Saturday evening, causing damage to businesses.

www.swissinfo.ch

 

[brihard]

This wasn't protesting, this was domestic terrorism. France is getting the full brunt of what it means to be diverse, you don't import tens of thousands of young men from north africa and the middle east and expect to live in harmony.

It’s protest, some of it lawful, some of it crossing into unlawful riot. Throwing the term ‘terrorism’ around willy-nilly doesn’t make it so.

You may be unaware, but France’s Algerian diaspora goes back many decades. Algeria was a French colony until it won independence and there are a great many French Algerians with full French citizenship. Unfortunately, France has historically had prevalent racist attitudes to its Algerian community. While France has been happy to profit from cheaper diaspora or immigrant labour, full social and economic inclusion has eluded most of them, and they’ve seen disproportionate police violence. When this carries on long enough, the friction can get kinda hot.

This current expression of outrage, sparked by a police shooting of a young French Algerian man, will fade as authorities get it under control. Let’s not, in the meantime, pretend it’s something it isn’t. There has been no threat to the lawful governance of the French state. There has been a single death- tragic, but only one. Breathlessly going to the most extreme interpretation of what this is doesn’t contribute to building a clearer picture at all.

 

[Kat Stevens]

This wasn't protesting, this was domestic terrorism. France is getting the full brunt of what it means to be diverse, you don't import tens of thousands of young men from north africa and the middle east and expect to live in harmony.

Freeze their bank accounts, that'll show 'em we mean business.

 

[Kat Stevens]

It’s protest, some of it lawful, some of it crossing into unlawful riot. Throwing the term ‘terrorism’ around willy-nilly doesn’t make it so.

You may be unaware, but France’s Algerian diaspora goes back many decades. Algeria was a French colony until it won independence and there are a great many French Algerians with full French citizenship. Unfortunately, France has historically had prevalent racist attitudes to its Algerian community. While France has been happy to profit from cheaper diaspora or immigrant labour, full social and economic inclusion has eluded most of them, and they’ve seen disproportionate police violence. When this carries on long enough, the friction can get kinda hot.

This current expression of outrage, sparked by a police shooting of a young French Algerian man, will fade as authorities get it under control. Let’s not, in the meantime, pretend it’s something it isn’t. There has been no threat to the lawful governance of the French state. There has been a single death- tragic, but only one. Breathlessly going to the most extreme interpretation of what this is doesn’t contribute to building a clearer picture at all.

Yup, you need to be honking horns and reving engines to get the full weight of government dropped on you...