the League for Human Rights denounces a “deliberate desire not to provide assistance as soon as possible”

In a report published on Monday July 10, observers from the Human Rights League point to the “deliberate desire not to provide assistance as soon as possible” on the part of the public authorities during the demonstration of March 25 in Sainte-Soline against the mega-basins. According to them, the State’s responsibility is therefore “engaged”.

“The political will was clear: the Sainte-Soline demonstration should not take place, and anyone who defied the prefectural authorization exposed themselves to risks for their physical and moral integrity”emphasize the League of Human Rights but also the Syndicate of Lawyers of France and the Copernic Foundation.

The 150-page report is based on the field work of observers present during the mobilization, which had given rise to violent clashes between demonstrators and the police. “The priority given to issues of maintaining order over any other consideration has revealed its absurdity when obstructing relief”curry the authors in their conclusions.

“Disproportionate” use of force

The demonstration had gathered 6,000 to 8,000 people according to the authorities, 30,000 according to the organizers. The latter reported 200 injuries, including 40 serious, on the demonstrators’ side. According to official figures, 5,015 tear gas canisters were fired, or about one per second. In two reports, the prefecture and the gendarmerie defended a targeted and proportionate response to 800 to 1,000 “radical” demonstrators.

On the contrary, observers denounce the “numerous injuries caused by the disproportionate and repeatedly unnecessary use of weapons” by law enforcement. Among them, two seriously injured demonstrators, Serge D. and Mickaël B., during clashes with the police, spent several weeks in a coma.