‘Smoke filled the sky’ - A British student’s account of violence at Lyon protests

I am a British student studying in France who was at the protests in Lyon last weekend – and this is what I saw.

I awoke on Saturday to an overcast sky and the sound of helicopters. Having heard much about the planned protest over the last few weeks, I felt a real sense of anticipation as I cycled towards the centre of the city. 

I joined the protest at around 13:30 close to the Garibaldi metro station – just under two kilometres from the protest’s supposed ‘centre’. 

Almost immediately I saw protesters running down the road adjacent to me pursued by a troop of CRS guards; with the scent of tear gas following in their wake. 

I continued into the fray of protesters, who were dressed mainly in black. Most protesters had covered their faces with a Covid mask though some protesters were wearing quite professional-looking gas masks. 

Perhaps some were wearing these masks to conceal their identities, but I believe the majority were simply hoping to reduce the effects of the tear gas. Despite the masks, the majority of the protesters were clearly young, with many seemingly children. 

The scene that followed was a standoff between the police and the young protesters. The relative calm was then bulldozed by a frenetic exchange of projectiles launched by both sides. 

From the protesters: bricks, bottles and fireworks. The CRS then responded with large quantities of tear gas and stun grenades, which quickly caused the crowd to frantically run away from the rising fumes. 

The day continued in the same vein. After meeting up with two friends, we walked over towards Place Bellecour, which had been designated as the meeting point for the protests. 

Attack on the tourist office 

We pushed through a tightly packed crowd to the edge of the place, where we saw a group of, again young, protesters charging the tourist office, brandishing an array of objects, from street signs and road bollards, to pieces of broken up pavement slabs and traffic cones. 

CRS guards had stationed themselves around 25 metres away and once again responded by firing large amounts of tear gas into the large crowd of mainly peaceful protesters, many of whom were forced to run, screaming and clutching their throats as the smoke built around them. 

Though I did not personally witness it, I know that the tourist office was set alight and later engulfed in flames.

Moving south along the Rhône, there was further back and forth between the protesters and the CRS. Smoke filled the sky and it became increasingly difficult to make out what was going on, though the sounds of explosions and flashes of multicoloured light from fireworks continued. 

We eventually made it to an area where there was apparently no police presence. There was a sense of both calm and anxiety among the protesters. Suddenly we heard the sound of glass breaking and saw the Sofitel hotel being attacked. Some of the hotel’s guests were looking on from their rooms as windows were smashed and some protesters even entered the building, carrying flares and fireworks.

Looting then broke out in the neighbouring shops, with young people running out with clothes, shoes and stolen alcohol. There was a triumphant air among the protesters, who had also started breaking security cameras off the walls of buildings. Chanting broke out; most directed against the police and the far right.

A stand-off on the Pont de la Guillotière

Looking back up along the river, we could see a confrontation on the Pont de la Guillotière. Protesters were advancing along the bridge from right to left, with CRS guards repelling them with tear gas and a mobile water cannon. 

We crossed the next bridge to the south and walked along the other bank; joining the crowd from behind. Pushing further towards the front we saw the scale of this battle that was taking place. Hundreds of protesters were surging along the bridge towards the CRS. They were throwing bottles and rocks at the guards. 

The response was inevitable: volleys of tear gas, stun grenades and the forceful use of water cannons. Multiple protesters were injured. However, rather than run from the gas and explosions, many protesters picked up the gas canisters and either threw them back towards the CRS, or off the bridge into the river below. 

The confrontation continued for quite some time as more bottles were produced out of wheelie bins. Some of these bins were used as makeshift shields to protect advancing protesters from the incoming water and flying debris. 

It was at this point that my friends and I left the protest, though it showed no sign of letting up.

The next day

Walking the streets of Lyon the following morning revealed the full scale of the damage. The burned-out shell of the tourist office was still smoking and the streets were covered in broken glass. Many shops had been looted and graffiti covered many of the city’s statues.

From my experience, the protest seemed almost less about demanding improved funding for the lycées, and more about showing a deeper hatred towards the police, who were very heavy-handed in their response. Many times, the CRS fired indiscriminately at  large groups of protesters – a large proportion of which were teenagers – who often had no easy way to escape the chaos.