Prime minister chides break-in at Pitie-Salpetriere hospital as doctors say the protesters tried to enter an intensive care unit
02 May 2019 - 17:18An injured French CRS riot policeman is evacuated during clashes as part of the traditional May Day labour union march with French unions and yellow vests protesters in Paris, France, on May 1 2019. Picture: REUTERS/BENOIT TESSIERThe French government has accused radicals of storming a famed Paris hospital during a fiery May Day, an incident that risks further raising tensions between authorities and a nationwide protest movement.
But supporters of the “yellow vest” movement, whose protests have shaken the government of President Emmanuel Macron over the past half year, insisted the demonstrators were merely seeking refuge from tear gas fired by police. Hospital director Marie-Anne Ruder said the gate had been forced open and she saw dozens of people entering, some wearing the protesters’ trademark high-visibility yellow vests and others with their faces covered.
Paris hospitals director-general Martin Hirsch, who has filed a complaint, said CCTV footage showed a number of intruders trying to get in as a group of nurses struggled to hold the door shut, shouting: “Be careful, there are patients in here!” French health minister Agnes Buzyn described the break-in as unspeakable. “This is the first time there has been an act of violence at a hospital,” she told Europe 1 radio. “I think that all French people, like me, are extremely shocked.”
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