A French police patrol car came under attack in Paris on Wednesday (May 18), four people have been arrested.
ADVERTISEMENTA French police patrol car came under attack in Paris on Wednesday (May 18), four people have been arrested.
The incident happened as officers were holding their own rally to vent their frustration at a hike in violent behaviour towards them in recent weeks.
The police vehicle had missiles thrown at it which then went up in flames after the officers inside had escaped.
Paris #police car on fire during protest against police violence on day police protest against bad name. #SoFrenchpic.twitter.com/tRQPI3klkl
— Stefan de Vries (@stefandevries) May 18, 2016
Those arrested were alleged members of a so-called “anti-cop” protest which had been planned for the same time but which had been banned.
Around 1,000 officers had taken part in their own rally. They are complaining of stress following near daily clashes with violent youths on the fringes of demonstrations protesting at government employment reform laws.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has defended the police and said 350 of them had been injured in standoffs that had produced 1,300 arrests in just two months.
Further strikes and protests are planned for the rest of the week in what labour unions, along with a youth protest movement called Nuit Debout or Night Rising, hope will prove a big enough show of force to make President Hollande reconsider his changes to French labour laws.
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