Minister of lies: French law and order chief Gérald Darmanin's false claims about protests
In the space of one week France's high-profile minister of the interior issued a series of bold but false declarations. These assertions concerned the typical profile of the “troublemakers” present at France's recent demonstrations, the police's controversial BRAV-M motorbike unit, the type of ammunition fired at the water protests at Sainte-Soline in west France and the obstacles that prevented the emergency services from reaching people who had been badly injured at the same demonstrations. France's top administrative body the Conseil d'État described one of Gérald Darmanin's pronouncements as “false”. Matthieu Suc reports.
ItIt is Saturday March 25th and incidents are breaking out during the protests at Sainte-Soline in west France against local plans for agricultural reservoirs. A man is in danger of dying. An observer from France's Human Rights League (LDH) and a doctor, who are watching events at a distance from the demonstration's support base, urgently phone the local fire brigade and then speak to an operator at the ambulance service SAMU.
