French riot police attack firemen with tear gas in Paris (photos)

On the 25th March firemen in the whole of France took to the streets to demonstrate for the recognition of the dangers involved in their job and the safegarding of their regulations. The firefighting proffesion is not considered as being dangerous in France, which affects safety measures and their social rights. Among the demonstrators was a fireman who had been extemely disfigured by burns received while carrying out his job. The updating of obsolete fire fighting equipment was also an important theme. The firemen were not happy that the para-military CRS (a police unit for combatting riots and rebellions) have all the state-of-the-art equipment they need and that more CRS were present than demonstrators. During the late afternoon the CRS violently attacked the demo with water canons and tear gas, with tear gas canisters often being fired directly at demonstrators. Shock grenades were also used. The Place de Opera was filled with a dense cloud of smoke/gas. Numerous firemen were injured. The state radio Radio France didn’t report anything about the incident.