500 demonstrators arrested, hundreds of policemen wounded in France pension protests
A protester fuels a street fire on the sidelines of a demonstration in Toulouse, southern France. AFP
Criticism from human rights groups mounted on Friday over the alleged brutality of French police in handling protests opposed to President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced, on Friday, that 457 people had been arrested, and that 441 police and gendarmerie officers were injured on Thursday, in France, during the ninth day of protests against pension reform.
Darmanin, who was a guest on CNews, confirmed that there were 903 fires of urban furniture and garbage containers on Thursday in Paris during the trade union demonstration.
"There were a lot of demonstrations, and some of them turned violent, especially in Paris," he added, praising the police's efforts to protect more than a million people who demonstrated across France.
Darmanin rejected the protesters' calls to abandon the pension reform that parliament approved last week in controversial circumstances.
"I think this law should not be withdrawn because of violence," he said. If this happens, then it means that there is no state. We must accept a democratic and social discussion, but not a violent discussion.”
The police had warned that groups of vandals were expected to infiltrate the Paris demonstration, while young men wearing masks were seen smashing windows and setting garbage containers on fire in the final stages of the demonstration.
