France: wounded by repression at the center of debates and marches

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In the midst of an epidemic of flu, snow covers a blanket almost all over France while the "yellow fever" vests do not diminish. On the contrary, the twelfth act of Saturday, February 2 will take place under the slogan: "The great march of the wounded In the honor of 90 people injured in previous acts and demonstrations and in repudiation of repressive escalation. The wounded will lead the march which will be protected by a security team of jackets.

Saturday, January 26, Jerome Rodrigues (see photo), a reference yellow jackets – known for their pacifist and non-violent attitude – He was seriously injured by the police. According to several witnesses and two videos, it is known that it is a rubber bullet that hit him in the eye while he was recording with his phone. Jerome was wounded on the Place de la Bastille while he was busy asking his comrades to leave the place and go to the Republic Square because at that time the police indicted a violent group of "Black Bloc".

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Defense bullets (LBD) are debated not only in the media space but also before the Council of State. As the number of victims increases Of this "sublethal" weapon, a group of police denounces the appeal launched by the LBD "to avoid its use". The CGT and the League of Human Rights are asking the State Council to ban this type of weapons. same Some MPs such as Jean-Luc Mélenchon demand the resignation of the Minister of the Interior.

Of the 90 wounded, 40 were wounded by an LBD bullet, 17 lost an eye and one person has been in an artificial coma since January 12th. According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, in two months, there would have been 9,228 strokes of LBD. The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) – responsible for ensuring that police officers abide by the laws and code of ethics – received 243 complaints.

Meanwhile the Macron government, who defends the use of LBD and supports the attitude of the police during the demonstrations, tries to impose on the Chamber of Deputies a new law "anti-breakers" already approved in October 2018 by the French Senate. In a joint statement, on January 25, the CGT, FSU, Solidaires, the League of Human Rights and the Union of Magistrates unions felt that public freedoms were in danger: "The marking of protesters, the individual prohibition to demonstrate, the obligation to report to the police station, express the intention to create suspects and impose social control on pain of to distort police procedures and to introduce arbitrariness. "

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All the left has denounced this "law of circumstance" against the "yellow vests", which violate the fundamental freedoms of an entire people and introduces into the common law code a measure only permissible in the application of the "state of emergency". In addition, centrist deputies and a group of 15 pro-government MPs have expressed serious reservations about certain points of the law.

What kind of democracy does it mean when the police opts for escalation, mutilates knowingly and abandons them to gratuitous aggression, with the blessing of a government that votes administrative prohibition? ?

The "big national debate" versus "the real debate"

Forced to launch the national debate on January 15 to end the mobilization of "vests", President Macron chose to resume the political initiative. It is also about using this debate for your own communication for the European elections May of this year. The debate should be organized by the CNDP (National Commission for Public Debate), an independent and neutral body with a very precise regulation: open to all citizens, without limitation of subjects. Macron wanted to impose its four themes by limiting the debate, President Chantal Jouanno gave up organizing and the CNDP was left out. What Macron will do on March 15 with the thousands of contributions you will collect in your platform at the end of your debate?

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The "yellow vests" they decided on their part organize a "real debate" without restrictions. Starting Wednesday, January 30, you will be able to participate in the specially created platform. Paradoxically, the computer company "Cap Collective", which provided the government, provided the vesicles for free, on the same computer platform. In the coming weeks, the amount and quality of contributions on both platforms will be known.

From another side about 100 meetings out of 600 planned were organized during the last fifteen days in different towns and villages of France. The majority of participants – an average of 80 people per meeting – spoke openly, some on unforeseen issues. During several meetings, it was possible to check the presence of a yellow vest although the majority of them decided not to participate.

Saturday, January 26 75 delegations of yellow jackets from popular bademblies from all over the country met in the city of Commercy. According to the excellent report published by Mediapart, the 300 jackets debated Saturday, exchanging experiences, expressing the need for better coordination and organization but unanimously rejecting any type of bureaucratic structure, denouncing the spontaneity of the movement.

Demonstrations, debates, bademblies and lists of electors they constitute the current component of the movement launched at the end of October 2018. Some roundabouts are still active, even if they have been considerably reduced. The yellow vests will surely invent new forms of intervention calling for more social justice, the return of the ISF (solidarity tax on wealth), the use of the RIC (referendum of citizens' initiative) and the implementation of participatory democracy. In any case, next Saturday, Macron will not be able to prevent the demonstration in Paris and the planned marches in the rest of the country in tribute to all the wounded.

Carlos Schmerkin, corresponding to Paris.