A climate protest turned violent as police used pepper spray and physical force to disperse demonstrators who blocked traffic by sitting on the Pont de Sully bridge in Paris on Friday.
Footage shows police officers spraying protesters with pepper spray apparently only a few dozen centimetres from their faces. Police are then seen dragging and pushing demonstrators along the ground, while the latter are chanting “slow down police, we are doing this for your kids.”
Protesters, whose numbers were reportedly estimated between 90 and 200, also tied banners that read “Let’s rebel for the living” and “Tell the truth” onto the bridge.
The action was initiated by the civil disobedience movement Extinction Rebellion, which originated in Britain.