RIGHT NOW: Paris in flames - riots at street protest

 

Derailed May Day in France  

 

Of:  

 

Emil Forsberg 

  

Published: Less than 3 hours ago  

 

Updated: Less than 2 hours ago  

 

NEWS  

 

The May Day celebrations in France have been derailed. 

 

Louis Vuitton in Paris has been color bombed while a municipal building in Nantes is on fire.  

 

Powerful images also show a police officer catching fire after being hit by a Molotov cocktail.  

 

Ahead of May Day celebrations in France, Paris police warned that violent protesters had mobilized in an "unprecedented way"  

 

And when the train started on Monday morning, chaos erupted. 

 

In the French capital, the environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion started the day by "colorbombing" Louis Vuitton.

 

Around 2:30 p.m., police and protesters also clashed while loud bangs were heard in the area, writes Le Monde.  

 

At the same time, strong images show how a Molotov cocktail is thrown into a group of police officers. One of the police officers suffered burns and was seriously injured, according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. 

 

Over 550,000 people are expected to be on the streets, according to BFMTV.

 

The infamous Brav-M police unit and the CRS security force have been called in to disperse the crowds. Over 50 people have been arrested, according to Le Monde. 

 

Occupied luxury hotels  

 

But it is not only Paris that has been affected by disturbances.  

 

In Nantes, the protesters have attacked with rockets and fireworks, while the police responded by firing countless amounts of tear gas, writes Le Monde.

 

According to Ouest-France-journalist Stéphanie Lambert, the protesters have also set fire to a municipal building.  

 

Images show black smoke billowing from the building while open flames shoot from the basement.  

 

"An explosion followed by heavy black smoke and flames at the building," she writes on Twitter. 

 

One person is said to have injured his hand in connection with an explosion and the extent of the damage is described as unclear. At least 14 people have been arrested.  

 

In Marseille, 200 protesters occupied a luxury hotel and caused a major riot according to AFP.  

 

The protesters were quickly driven from the hotel, police headquarters said. 

 

"Don't Be Tamed" 

 

The violence in France flared up after President Emmanuel Macron in January proposed a new reform to raise the retirement age to 64. 

 

The general retirement age in France has been one of Europe's lowest at 62 years and according to Macron, the proposal to raise the retirement age is necessary because then he believes that the current pension system is bleeding money and is too expensive for France. 

 

- Don't let yourself be tamed, whatever the cost. Be rebellious until the end, says the radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon according to BFMTV.

 

68-year-old pensioner Marilyne cheers on the perpetrators of violence. 

 

- We cannot blame people for being violent because Macron does not listen to calm people. Many of us understood that there was no chance that he would withdraw the reform. Now we have to keep messing around. Pictures show the great chaos in Paris. 

 

Pictures show the great chaos in Paris. Photo: Thibault Camus/AP 

 

Photo: Aurelien Morissard / AP