Nearly 150 arrested in post-election protests in Paris overnight – police
At least 141 people were arrested in Paris during an “anti-capitalist” demonstration that took place following Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the French presidential election on Sunday evening.
Some 300 protesters gathered in the Menilmontant district, one of Paris’s most popular neighborhoods in the north of the city, after Macron was elected as France’s new president, French media reported. According to police 141 people were arrested.
Six policemen and three demonstrators were injured, France 3 reported, adding that French police had deployed tear gas. Identity checks were carried out at the scene and 69 people were issued a residence prohibition order by the Prefect of Police, according to the media.
According to France 3, a total of 143 people were arrested overnight.
Those detained were accused of “violence against police,” including throwing projectiles at officers, and damaging property.
The demonstrators smashed the windows of a school and knocked over trash cans, Le Figaro reported, citing an unnamed police source.
Shouting “everyone hates the police,” hooded protesters, most of them young men dressed in black, threw projectiles at Paris police.
According to Reuters, the demonstrators were protesting both president-elect Macron and right-wing Marine Le Pen.
Macron won the presidential election with 66.1 percent of the vote, while his rival, Marine Le Pen, received 33.9 percent, the French Interior Ministry said, citing the final results.
RT’s Charlotte Dubenskij was detained by police while covering the Paris protest following the presidential run-off. She said police snatched her phone away, went through her documents, and IDs, and asked the journalist what was in her bag. Dubenskij was wearing a helmet for safety during the protest, raising suspicions from police, who said it was “very unusual” to have such equipment.
Police held Dubenskij in a van for 10-15 minutes, then drove her around for about 30 minutes.
Dubenskij contacted RT live via Skype, but police soon interrupted the call, telling Dubenkij to stop talking and that they were going to take her phone away.
The correspondent was later released.
Protests also took place in several cities across France. In Strasbourg, the rally against “fascists and capitalists” turned violent, with protesters shouting “Macron Demission” (Macron’s resignation) while throwing stones at police, France 3 reported.
