More than 26,000 people took part on Saturday in demonstrations in France against the draft law on global security.
The French Interior Ministry said.
“The number of protesters was 26,417, of whom about 5,000 were in Paris”, – the ministry said. The Interior Ministry recalled that more than 57,000 people took part in the demonstrations across the country on December 5, and more than 133,000 demonstrators in the first wave of protests.
According to the latest figures from the republic’s Interior Ministry, the police detained 164 people during the demonstrations this Saturday, 142 of them in Paris. According to the interior ministry, many were detained in the capital for being found in possession of screwdrivers, spanners and other items that could be used against the forces of law and order. Others have been taken into custody for throwing bottles, smoke bombs at gendarmes.
Protests against the Global Security Bill were held for the third time in France. The protesters oppose Article 24, which provides for a hefty fine and prison sentences for those who post pictures of police officers clearly showing their faces and giving their addresses and names on the internet. Critics of the document claim it “infringes on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly”.