In Lyon, mayor and prefect face shopkeepers the day after the demonstrations

Concerns had been growing among shopkeepers for several days as September 10 approached and calls to shut down everything in Lyon multiplied. And while more than 8,000 people mobilized, the damage was relatively contained, despite the presence of a few hundred violent elements among a majority of peaceful demonstrators.

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" Four businesses were affected, including two banks ," said the prefect responsible for security, Antoine Guérin, this Thursday morning, accompanied by Grégory Doucet, the Green mayor of Lyon, and his deputies for businesses, security, and public spaces, for a visit to the businesses on Rue Victor Hugo. The prefect and the DIPN, Nelson Bouard, welcomed the results, while conceding that four businesses affected " are already four too many ."

" We ensured that the declared demonstration could take place in the 3rd arrondissement, where the demonstrators remained for a long time. It then broke out, and the action of the police forces ensured the safety of property and people, " assured Antoine Guérin, who nevertheless conceded that several garbage fires were lit. The Nicolas wine shop was also damaged in the evening, an action unrelated to the demonstrations, according to the prefect and the DIPN. Ten police officers were slightly injured, while 25 arrests were made.

The mayor, the prefect, and the DIPN were notably thanked this morning by a shopkeeper on rue Victor Hugo, who praised the actions of the police. At the same time, however, Grégory Doucet and Antoine Guérin visited the manager of the Perreyon 1884 store, Kelly Ingargiola, who said she was " surprised not to have more information in advance ." The prefecture actually informs the CCI directly, which in turn is responsible for passing the information on to the various retail associations. However, a shopkeeper who is not a member of an association finds himself without information.

" Perhaps we need to reduce the number of different interlocutors ," notes Mayor Grégory Doucet. This is difficult to do, we are told by those close to the prefect, especially since the State has chosen to go through the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) because the latter can dispatch private security agents if necessary to secure businesses. The context of September 10 was even more complicated to manage, with a significant dispersion of protesters, divided into small mobile groups. " We didn't know where the demonstration was going to take place. We followed them, and as soon as we saw that a group was arriving at Place Carnot, we passed the information on, " Antoine Guérin defended himself.

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