VIDEO. Tractor against water cannon: in Rennes, a demonstration of fishermen turned into a confrontation with CRS

This was not a mobilization against pension reform, but against certain rules that put them “in the way” and restrictions that made it difficult for them to operate. On Tuesday morning in Rennes (Île-et-Villain), several hundred fishermen took to the streets of the city in a demonstration marked by incidents.

The demonstrators – 400 people, according to police – joined by young radical activists, gathered in the middle of the morning with firecrackers and smoke bombs on the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, where they were supposed to stay initially. Around 11 a.m., they left towards the Parliament of Brittany, causing great tension with the police, who tried to push them away from the historic center with tear gas and water cannons.

The delegation was also to be received in the middle of the day in the prefecture. This demonstration by fishermen is aimed at condemning the “regulations and harassment of the leadership of maritime affairs” while the Council of State ordered on Monday the closure of certain fishing areas in the Atlantic to protect dolphins. “We are very upset by the decision of the State Council. If we cannot go to these areas within four months, we can sell the boat,” said Ludovic, 51, a fisherman from Lorient (Morbihan). “The first complaint is the price of diesel fuel, as well as the lack of attention from professional structures and the state,” said David le Quintrec, a fisherman from Lorient.

Rennes remains marked by the fire of the Parliament of Brittany on February 5, 1994, following a wild demonstration by fishermen sailors. The fire smoldered for several hours after an unnoticed launch of an emergency rocket, before the roof of the building caught fire.