Follow the demonstrations of this Thursday, March 23 in France live: after Emmanuel Macron’s speech yesterday, a rebound in the protest is likely.
- New day of demonstrations this Thursday, March 23 in France, more than 200 rallies are organized in France.
- The extent of the mobilization today will be a major political factor: is the protest movement continuing to run out of steam or has it revived after the adoption of the pension reform? According to intelligence estimates, 600,000 to 800,000 people are expected on the streets in France, including 40,000 to 70,000 in Paris.
Map of March 23 protests
The demonstrations of Thursday, March 23 organized at the call of the inter-union are becoming clearer and nearly 200 rallies are planned by theUnsa.
Live
10:10 – Mobilizations already underway!
The day of protest on March 23 has well and truly begun. Several blockades and rallies were organized in various places, particularly on the roads, near stations and airports. This is particularly the case around Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris where protesters prevent access to Terminal 1 or simply to the airport on the nearby roads. In Bordeaux, Mérignac airport is also blocked.
What are the start times and locations for events in Paris and France?
- Paris : at 2 p.m. from Bastille
- Marseilles : at 10:30 a.m. from the Old Port
- Lyons : at 11 a.m. from the Manufacture des Tabacs
- Toulouse: at 3 p.m. at the Saint-Cyprien metro station
- Nice: at 10 a.m. in front of the CADAM, at the Alpes-Maritimes Prefecture
- Nantes: at 10:30 a.m. from the Water Mirror
- Montpellier: at 10:30 a.m. from Place Zeus
- Strasbourg: at 2 p.m. from Avenue de la Liberté
- Bordeaux: at 12 noon from Allées de Tourny
- Lille: at 2:30 p.m. from Porte de Paris
- Rennes: at 11 a.m. from Place de Bretagne
- Toulon: at 10 a.m. from Place de Liberté
- Le Havre: at 10 a.m. from Cercle Franklin
- Dijon: at 2 p.m. from Place de la Liberation
- Nîmes: at 2:30 p.m. from the Jardins de la Fontaine
- Clermont-Ferrand: at 10 a.m. from Place du 1er Mai
- Tours: at 2 p.m. from Place Anatole France
- Perpignan: at 10:30 a.m. from Place de Catalunya
- Rouen: at 10 a.m. from Cours Clémenceau
- Caen: at 2:30 p.m. from the Cargö
What is the route of the demonstration in Paris?
This Thursday, March 23, the demonstration organized in Paris must follow one of the traditional routes of the capital. Starting from the Place de la Bastille, the route includes a passage through the Place de la République, then through the boulevards Saint-Martin, Saint-Denis, Bonne Nouvelle, Poissonnière, Montmartre, des Italiens and finally Capucines. The arrival and dispersal of demonstrators must take place at the Place de l’Opéra.
What route for the event in Marseille?
It is most often from the Old Port that the demonstrations start in Marseille towards the Porte d’Aix. The route must go through the Mucem and the Place de la Joliette.
What is the route of the event in Lyon?
In Lyon, the demonstration of March 23 must leave as usual from the Manufacture des Tabacs to join the Place Bellecour, the place where the demonstrations organized during the week most often end. The path must pass through Saxe-Gambetta and Guillotière, take the eponymous bridge and go to Place Antonin-Poncet.
Dreaded violence at the demonstrations of March 23?
Will the March 23 protests end in clashes between protesters and the police? It is a fear justified by the images of spontaneous mobilizations which have multiplied in recent days. Photos and videos show charges by the authorities, in particular the motorized violent action repression brigade (BRAV-M) in Paris, and violent beatings of demonstrators. “The police intervene in a way… ‘energetic’, let’s say, and sometimes without discernment”, admitted Philippe Martinez in an interview with the World on the eve of the ninth day of mobilization. Accusations of police violence have flared up on the side of left-wing elected officials who have denounced “abusive” interventions and arrests.
These muscular interventions would not however be expected in the processions of March 23, which will be organized and will follow routes determined and marked out by the authorities. According to the explanations of Johann Cavalero, national delegate of the Alliance union, guest on BFM TV, the violence and repression of the police would be a response to unexpected and unpredictable mobilizations: “The difference is that we have no interlocutors to prepare the course or to tell us what they want to do. So we adjust the device and we react to what is happening opposite.” In the eyes of the boss of the CGT, the more numerous and more violent interventions of the police are also an “old tactic” of the government which wants to “inflame things” “to discredit the movement, impress people, scare them and try to regain control of public opinion”.