Lyon: the Bellecour tourist office burned, the Presqu’île looted and 160 in custody after the October 17 day of unrest
Translated from French. The day after an undeclared mobilisation that drew more than 20,000 people into central Lyon, the Rhône prefect, Étienne Guyot, announced on Sunday 160 people in police custody and around a hundred injured among the security forces, with no victims among the demonstrators.
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The tally came on Sunday, October 18, the day after the cost of living mobilisation that tipped into chaos in central Lyon. The Rhône prefect, Étienne Guyot, announced that 160 people had been arrested and placed in police custody in Lyon and that around a hundred members of the security forces had been injured. He said there were no victims among the demonstrators and called the level of violence unprecedented. On Saturday evening, a situation update issued at 7 pm had still counted only 20 arrests.
The day had begun early. According to the Rhône prefecture, gatherings formed from 6 am at several points across the metropolitan area, with no advance declaration: no organiser, no route filed, and the gatherings judged risky, notably outside the Feyzin refinery, were dispersed. Shortly before 2 pm, more than 20,000 people were converging around place Bellecour, cours Gambetta, quai Augagneur and the Guillotière district, former gilets jaunes, high school students, students, climate activists and farmers mixed together.
The Bellecour tourist office stormed
Breakers attacked the tourist office with stones and iron bars, smashing its metal doors and windows, before getting inside at around 2.30 pm, according to Le Monde; the events took place between about 2.25 pm and 2.45 pm. Smoke rose, then fire, and the building blazed beyond saving. Firefighters could not get near for about an hour, because attacks on police blocked their intervention; they later worked under protection.
The destroyed pavilion dated from 1852. Built by the architect Tony Desjardins, it formed, with its twin, one of the two pavilions of place Bellecour, originally for military use, the square then serving as a parade ground. Later home to the ONLYLYON tourist office branch, it housed a statue of Paul Bocuse: the attackers dragged it outside and degraded it, and it was left lying on the ground of the square, according to Radio Espace and Le Progrès.
The Presqu’île given over to looting
From mid-afternoon, dozens of shopfronts exploded from Bellecour to the Terreaux, and groups sacked and looted the stores, coming out laden with clothes, shoes and computer equipment, Le Monde reports. Among the looted brands named by Le Progrès are Lancel, K-Way, The North Face, Micromania and The Kooples; AFP also names, in Lyon, Boulanger, partly burned, Nike and Sephora.
On place des Jacobins, the Hugo Boss shop caught fire; according to a witness cited by Le Progrès, people on the scene, including demonstrators, entered the building to evacuate the residents. There were also mortar firework shots on place de la République and damage at the Guillotière McDonald’s. The windows of the Hôtel de Ville were smashed, and the day ended with an attempted attack on the Hôtel de Ville and a barricade set on fire; police intervened at around 8 pm to put an end to the looting.
“An unprecedented level of violence”
On Saturday, Lyon’s mayor, Grégory Doucet, condemned the destruction of the tourist office. “Our public buildings are common goods; vandalising them is attacking the women and men of Lyon,” he said, speaking of shocking images and of demonstrators put in danger on place Bellecour: “I firmly condemn these unacceptable scenes of violence.” The prefecture, for its part, judged that violence had crossed an unprecedented threshold at the expense of the demonstrators who were carrying demands.
On Sunday, Étienne Guyot restated the scale of the shock: “Lyon residents tell me that we have never seen such an unleashing of violence,” he said, adding that the State would pursue those responsible with determination. Grégory Doucet, for his part, regretted the total chaos observed for long hours. On Sunday morning, only charred ruins of the tourist office branch remained. The mayors of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, of Marseille, Benoît Payan, and of Lyon also jointly asked to be received by the Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, at the start of the following week, seeking a precise diagnosis and guarantees.
