‘We won’t back down’: protesters express concern over pollution and protected species
For Gilles Renevier, a vet from a village south-east of Lyon, fighting Amazon’s plans to build a vast logistics centre in his area was “common sense”.
The US firm was due to begin construction of a huge centre for packing and delivery beside Lyon airport in south-east France this year, but two local associations have lodged legal files to halt the build.
Continue reading...Gilets jaunes demonstrations in Paris on Saturday largely peaceful, but turned violent in the late afternoon
Police and demonstrators clashed sporadically in Paris and other French cities on Saturday as gilets jaunes protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s government took place for a 19th consecutive weekend.
The demonstration in the capital was largely peaceful for most of the day, but later in the afternoon police fired teargas on protesters near Boulevard de Strasbourg, close to the capital’s Gare du Nord and Gare de L’Est railway stations.
Continue reading...The militant wing of the French protests picked on a beloved institution. So I set up a crowdfunder to help
In 47 years of journalism, few things have shocked me as deeply as the sight of burning newspaper kiosks on the Champs-Élysées.
Journalists are supposed to be neutral observers – impassioned but dispassionate. Forget all that. This was personal. This was an attack on the print newspapers that had been my life’s blood from the day I joined the Bolton Evening News in 1972 until the Independent stopped printing in 2016. This was an attack on something endearingly Parisian, something as instantly recognisable as the Eiffel Tower or the burned-rubber smell of the Métro.
Continue reading...Soldiers deployed in show of force in Paris and in Nice, which is hosting a state visit
France has drafted in extra security forces including army troops to try to prevent any repeat of violence during gilets jaunes protests in Paris or other cities this weekend.
Police, gendarmes and soldiers will be deployed in a show of force in the capital and in the southern city of Nice, where the president, Emmanuel Macron, will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for a state visit on Sunday.
Continue reading...