LThe decision has not yet been made. But the uncertainty of the coming weeks is already hanging over traders in downtown Bordeaux. “For the moment, we do not plan to reactivate the system. But it worked well during the yellow vests. We’re waiting to see what happens. ” The device ? », for the Gironde CCI, it is a WhatsApp group, which Bordeaux traders hoped would be permanently buried.
Specially designed for riots, it could become active again if acts of violence are repeated on the sidelines of demonstrations. “It allows us to connect the police with traders, to monitor the progress of the processions in real time. It’s the prefecture that takes care of it,” warns Hervé Turpin. The day after a particularly agitated night in Bordeaux, the head of retail at the CCI of Gironde described a “concern emerging in businesses”, “a yellow vest effect”.
The “wild” demonstration ended around 11 p.m.
Thierry David / SO
One part calm, the other much less
Victor-Hugo sector, rue Sainte-Catherine, cours d’Albret… numerous businesses – mainly banks and large brands – were targeted on the evening of Monday June 10 in Bordeaux. A few moments earlier, the rally against the far right initiated on Place de la Victoire had started well. Bringing together political parties and ordinary citizens for peaceful speeches.
It was only shortly before 9:30 p.m. that the first acts of violence broke out. Some of the demonstrators gathered on Place de la Victoire headed towards the city center. Stepping confidently but initially calmly, the procession quickly split into two. At the front, a few hoods on. The bulk of the convoy initially remained further away and, above all, calmer. And everything first happened on this front branch of the procession. First around Place Saint-Projet and Rue Sainte-Catherine, then quickly in the rest of the city center. A hazardous wandering, which left a minority vandalizing around ten windows, but also advertising panels, cameras, electoral posters…
Thierry David / SO
Dispersal of the head of the procession by the police, tear gas and trash fires.
The beginning ?
“We have already been targeted. It happened on a window, there were tags, but never this much damage. » Cours Victor-Hugo, the Starbucks coffee brand was attacked with metal bars. The next morning, the director of operations in the region noted the damage. Large circular impacts, cracked glass, “a priori, it should hold”. For the moment, the team is considering putting in protection, before actually replacing the windows. “We will be secure but we don’t know if we should expect the same thing in the days to come. » The uncertainty, the doubt around new actions, this is what is now worrying traders.
“Should we expect an identical attack next night? Are you going to place a patrol on the square? » In the afternoon of this Tuesday, June 11, the Saint-Projet bar also had questions, in a letter addressed to Bordeaux town hall. Questions and concerns. On Monday evening, the terrace and the windows were targeted around 9:25 p.m. The management spoke of “a group of hooded demonstrators”, and explained that this was not the first act of this kind. “We have obviously been unfairly targeted for months by a group of radicalists for unfounded reasons. »
During the few minutes of vandalism, some demonstrators accused the bar of hosting “fascist meetings”. The Quatres Hôtels-Cafés group, in charge of operations, tempers and warns that it has “no political affiliation of any kind whatsoever. »
Guillaume Bonnaud / SO
This bank on Cours Victor-Hugo was also vandalized.
Another level of violence
On the Cours d’Albret, the assistant director of the Intermarché supermarket thinks he was targeted for different reasons. “I imagine that they attack all businesses that affect purchasing power. » If he too had already suffered similar acts, the manager does not hide his concern. “Depending on the results in three weeks, which are likely to be what they will be, it will happen again. It’s really likely to start again, and probably more than that. »
A little further away, the walls of the courthouse and the National School of Magistrates were also vandalized. An investigation into all the damage was entrusted to police officers from the property crime squad of the Territorial Crime Division.
Another demonstration against the far right is to take place at 2 p.m. this Saturday, this time called by several unions.
