Skip to Content

Yellow Vests in Paris. FWM

French police brutality against Yellow Vests denounced by EU and UN

Yellow Vest protesters marched again on Saturday across France in Act XIV of the movement. Three months into the ongoing protests, international outrage over police brutality is growing.

Published: February 17, 2019, 9:28 am

    Read more

    Celebrating their third month of mobilization, rallies extended throughout the weekend. According to the latest official figures from the Ministry of the Interior, 41 500 demonstrators gathered throughout France, including 5 000 in Paris.

    A slight decrease was noted compared to last week, when at the same time, there were 51 400 demonstrators in France. But according to the le Nombre Jaune , a collective responsible for listing the various events, there were 101 379 demonstrators, a stable figure compared to last week.

    “We are 15 000, that means the movement is increasing,” Jerome Rodrigues, one of the movement’s leaders, told AFP. Rodrigues was struck in the eye by a projectile fired from a police flash ball launcher (LBD) not long ago, but participated in the Paris march.

    On Thursday, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the disproportionate use of force against Yellow Vest protesters, following a debate about the controversial weapons used by French law enforcement.

    Also on Thursday, a group of UN experts condemned the disproportionate use of force by police in response to the ongoing movement. Some 23 people were arrested, the police headquarters announced.

    According to information from Franceinfo, a motorist drove through a procession of demonstrators in Rouen (Seine-Maritime) earlier in the afternoon, injuring at least four people.

    The man was reportedly stuck at a traffic light and got angry. He was then targeted by projectiles when he complained, and fearing the worst, got back in his car and rammed into the middle of the crowd, injuring at least four people, according to BFMTV.

    During Saturday’s protest, anti-semitic insults were directed at a French academic, according to footage circulating on social networks.

    Alain Finkielkraut, 69, was defended by French President Emmanuel Macron who condemned the incident. Finkielkraut told French weekly Journal du Dimanche that he had “feared for his safety” but fortunately the police had intervened.

    He was booed and whistled at during the march by a group of protesters in the fourteenth arrondissement of Paris, according to Le Figaro, but was never in danger.

    The academic told the newspaper: “The various leaders of this protean revolt have been welcomed with open arms on all television sets. They became the stars of the small screen. This promotion has risen to their heads and the arrogance has changed sides.” He denounced the “arrogance” of Yellow Vests who shouted “Zionist!”, “Go home!” and “France is ours!”.

    One protester told AFP that Finkielkraut had been provoking them. Despite telling the Journal du Dimanche that he “felt an absolute hatred,” Finkielkraut could be seen smiling as the police led him away.

    A poll by Elabe on Wednesday showed that a majority (58 percent) of French citizens still support the movement.

    Toulouse saw clashes between police and protesters with thousands marching in a huge turnout in the southwest city of Bordeaux, another stronghold of the movement.

    Clashes and arrests were registered in several cities.

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    Europe
    Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, is one of the Catholic bishops who signed the letter, which was read out in churches throughout Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland over the Easter weekend. Photo: The Catholic Church

    Care prompts bishops to criticize transgender ideology

    The Catholic bishops of the Scandinavian countries presented an open five-page letter criticizing transgender ideology on March 21, just before Easter. The document primarily expresses care and advice and was read aloud in Catholic churches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, is one of the signatories of the document.

    FREEZING IN THEIR HOMES is the new grim reality for many Brits and Northern Europeans. Margaret is 92 years old and has just come in from the winter cold, but no warmth awaits her at home. She fears her own home more than the icy streets. Next to her are four thick blankets, and on the shelf above the fireplace, which she can no longer afford to buy wood for, is a meter showing the daily cost of electricity (inset). It shows £1.03, about 13 SEK. When it reaches £3, about 38 SEK, she is forced to turn off the little heat she has to afford it. Still image: ITW News

    Brits Forced to Live in Darkness and Cold

    Food prices are rising at a furious pace, fastest in Scotland in almost half a century. At the same time, energy prices are at record highs. People are forced to choose between freezing or going hungry, and a majority of Scots are forced to live in cold and darkness to cope with bills. Old generations' tricks for saving and keeping warm are returning. Nevertheless, it is feared that 10,000 Brits will die of cold homes this winter. We present the Swedish Public Health Agency's guidelines on indoor temperature. Governments in Europe are introducing rationing and monitoring of food purchases. Net-zero emissions are a lie that, in practice, de-industrializes the West and dramatically lowers our standard of living.

    Thousands of Flemish farmers block roads in Brussels against nitrogen policy

    BrusselsMore than 2500 farmers from Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region gathered at Brussels' central Arts-Loi street and blocked roads with tractors toward Brussels to protest the regional government's plan to limit nitrogen emissions.

    Orban: EU energy sanctions costing citizens billions

    BudapestHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that some western states could soon send troops to Ukraine. He also criticized the fact that the EU sanctions against Russia had cost Hungarian taxpayers tens of billions of euros.

    Italy: New leader of the Social Democrats is one of Soros’ ‘preferred politicians’

    RomeDuring the election campaign, Elly Schlein presented herself as the standard-bearer of the poorest. However, her background and previous work raise doubts about her honesty.

    UK greenhouses shut down due to high energy costs

    LondonIn Great Britain, a particularly depressing facet of the crisis is now showing its first contours - and thus anticipating what is likely to happen in other European countries in the near future: because of the exploding energy prices, agriculture is being strangled and fresh produce has to be rationed.

    Lisbon opens borders to all Portuguese speakers

    LisbonNot only the German and Italian governments keep opening new paths for immigration. Portugal, too, has opened a Pandora's box and is paving the way for possibly millions of non-European immigrants to the EU – something which is not mentioned by the mainstream media.

    Illegal immigration to Italy has reached its highest level ever

    RomeIn Italy, despite the overwhelming right-wing electoral success in September, there is still nothing to be seen of the promised asylum turnaround – on the contrary. Giorgia Meloni has been in office for five months, but the arrivals of migrants in Italy have doubled compared to the previous year.

    Dismantling diplomacy with ‘feminist foreign policy’

    BudapestGerman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) wants to counter German security issues abroad with feminist politics. Gender training, LGBTQ events and quotas are now part of their new guidelines, which are intended to bring about "cultural change". The German ambassador to Hungary, Julia Gross, provided an embarrassing example.

    Germans demand investigation of Nord Stream sabotage

    BerlinAfter the sensational revelations by US investigative reporter Seymour Hersh about the perpetrators of the Nord Stream attacks on September 26, 2022, the German government has remained silent. It does not want to comment on Hersh's research results, according to which the pipelines were blown up by Americans and Norwegians.

    Go to archive