The prosecutor’s office in the French city of Rennes has opened an investigation following a riot involving hundreds of people that took place after the first round of the French presidential election.
Around 500 people took part in the rioting, which took place in the city centre of Rennes on Sunday evening following the end of voting for the first round of the French presidential election that saw President Emmanuel Macron and populist Marine Le Pen advance to the second round run-off vote.
The mob are said to have smashed the windows of local shops, smashed bus shelters and the storefronts of local banks, as well as spraypainted far-left extremist graffiti calling to “burn the right” and demanding “social war,” broadcaster Europe1 reports.
Rennes is largely known as a left-wing city and has a socialist mayor. Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon came first in the presidential vote in the city followed by Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, who scored just 7.29 per cent of the vote, far below her national average.
“In five years, Macron has broken everything and there he is back in the second round… We don’t care about rage and we only have that to express ourselves: fire and break stuff,” a protestor said.
“We need measures that correspond to what people want and not just an upper class that imposes without arguments… And to play into the hands of the far-right in every round of elections, it doesn’t work anymore and people don’t want that anymore,” another protestor, named Roxane, added.
Rennes was not the only city to see protests following the announcement of the results of the first round of the election. in Lyon, several hundred people, including far-left Antifa extremists, rioted causing property damage, throwing projectiles and fireworks.
Police deployed tear gas to deal with the rioting after some of the rioters managed to force their way into the city hall and broke windows and furniture inside the building.
The incident in Lyon comes just weeks after the French government dissolved an Antifa group in Lyon over members’ calls for violence against police and other acts of violence caused by the group.
“We have adopted the dissolution of the de facto group known as the anti-fascist group Lyon and surroundings known for its violent actions, its calls to hatred and its virulent and incessant incitement to attack our police forces,” French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.