As some might know France just had its presidential elections this WE and it turns out that Sarkozy ( right wing ) won. Just after this announcement ( made official around 8pm ) people opposed to him started gathering on the round-about of la Bastille, whereas those in favour found their way on the place de la Concorde for a big concert celebration.
It wasn't too long before things started to heat up in la Bastille and things got a little bit wild ( a fellow photographer got hit on the head by a cobblestone , and made the news in the process ). I wasn't there that night, but things happened yesterday night again and I wasn't going to miss that twice.
I obviously can't post all of them here, but if you're interested check all of them out here and you'll be able to follow the night chronologically.
Here are a few of these. They are quite small so should load quite easily :wink:
#1
It started out by blocking the traffic of the round-about simply by standing in the middle of it.
#2
Then they built some sort of barricades to channel the traffic. Only one car at a time could pass. That is if the people let them.
View attachment 94299
#3
Then out of nowhere this flare lights up and the crowd starts moving down that small road. We know that this many people on such a small street is bad news.
View attachment 94300
#4
I was with 2/3 fellow photographers and we stayed behind only to see all the mess left behind. We actually didn't catch up with the crowd until midnight. It was a game of cat and mouse between the protesters and the cops that were all over the streets trying to channel them where they could stop them.
View attachment 94301
#5
This scooter was left behind burning. It's amazing how hot it is even from 7-8 feet. This was the occasion to see the police officers in action putting out the fire. You could see they weren't kidding, they were backing each other up in case of an ambush I guess and had another officer with a flashball gun looking at the crowd from another angle. Impressive stuff !
View attachment 94302
#6
We then ran with the police to try and catch up the protesters that were by now long gone.
View attachment 94303
#7
Around midnight , after walking a fair amount we managed to find them again. They all came back to where it started on the place de la Bastille.
View attachment 94304
#8
A bit after the police was given the call to arrest people in order to put an end to this. Things got rough here too.
View attachment 94305
The 3 following shots are from the people in the police buses.
#9
read : "liberty"
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#10
read : "we are voters ! not vandals this is stupid "
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#11
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#12
I found the contrast between the young man's face and the situation very appealing.
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#13
Here the police had circled the last few protesters ( at least the ones that stayed on the steps of the opera ) and lead them to the buses. This girl didn't stop talking to the cops who remained perfectly still and silent.
View attachment 94310
For some reason this photographer got arrested as well. I really wish I knew who to give this photo because I'm sure it has a certain potential ( it's quite crappy technically-wise but just the fact that they arrested an apparently innoncent photographer is a big event ! ).
#14
View attachment 94311
#15
View attachment 94312
Thanks for watching. I should have more since it doesn't seem that these events are going to stop soon.
It wasn't too long before things started to heat up in la Bastille and things got a little bit wild ( a fellow photographer got hit on the head by a cobblestone , and made the news in the process ). I wasn't there that night, but things happened yesterday night again and I wasn't going to miss that twice.
I obviously can't post all of them here, but if you're interested check all of them out here and you'll be able to follow the night chronologically.
Here are a few of these. They are quite small so should load quite easily :wink:
#1
It started out by blocking the traffic of the round-about simply by standing in the middle of it.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
#2
Then they built some sort of barricades to channel the traffic. Only one car at a time could pass. That is if the people let them.
View attachment 94299
#3
Then out of nowhere this flare lights up and the crowd starts moving down that small road. We know that this many people on such a small street is bad news.
View attachment 94300
#4
I was with 2/3 fellow photographers and we stayed behind only to see all the mess left behind. We actually didn't catch up with the crowd until midnight. It was a game of cat and mouse between the protesters and the cops that were all over the streets trying to channel them where they could stop them.
View attachment 94301
#5
This scooter was left behind burning. It's amazing how hot it is even from 7-8 feet. This was the occasion to see the police officers in action putting out the fire. You could see they weren't kidding, they were backing each other up in case of an ambush I guess and had another officer with a flashball gun looking at the crowd from another angle. Impressive stuff !
View attachment 94302
#6
We then ran with the police to try and catch up the protesters that were by now long gone.
View attachment 94303
#7
Around midnight , after walking a fair amount we managed to find them again. They all came back to where it started on the place de la Bastille.
View attachment 94304
#8
A bit after the police was given the call to arrest people in order to put an end to this. Things got rough here too.
View attachment 94305
The 3 following shots are from the people in the police buses.
#9
read : "liberty"
View attachment 94306
#10
read : "we are voters ! not vandals this is stupid "
View attachment 94307
#11
View attachment 94308
#12
I found the contrast between the young man's face and the situation very appealing.
View attachment 94309
#13
Here the police had circled the last few protesters ( at least the ones that stayed on the steps of the opera ) and lead them to the buses. This girl didn't stop talking to the cops who remained perfectly still and silent.
View attachment 94310
For some reason this photographer got arrested as well. I really wish I knew who to give this photo because I'm sure it has a certain potential ( it's quite crappy technically-wise but just the fact that they arrested an apparently innoncent photographer is a big event ! ).
#14
View attachment 94311
#15
View attachment 94312
Thanks for watching. I should have more since it doesn't seem that these events are going to stop soon.
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