Pictures of the 2023 demonstration towards the Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sevres) megabasin not too long ago launched through “Mediapart” highlights the violence of police repression of protesters there. Some distance from being remoted, this episode is a part of a profound transformation of the apply of managing demonstrations in France during the last twenty years, marked through the common sense of the remilitarization of the police and the expanding judicial orientation of social actions. Confronted with this repressive flip, how do activists prepare?
At the scale of a number of French mobilizations (yellow vests, demonstrations towards pension reform, “Let’s block everything”, and many others.) we realize the generalization of the status quo of “support” purposes at the facet of the demonstrators: prison groups, other people chargeable for documenting the violence suffered, boulevard medical doctors, first assist coaching, and many others.
On this line, a toughen machine known as the “rear base” was once designed to collect in Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sevres), in keeping with the prior to now suppressed demonstrations. The prison staff will likely be arranged in March 2022, all through the Marketplace Spring towards the megabasin. Through making prison assets to be had to activists, that is the most important hyperlink in coping with protests. It is helping give protection to towards the emotional and mental exhaustion related to prison court cases, which might be incessantly lengthy, aggravating and financially dear, particularly whilst you face it on my own. Mental toughen is arranged after the clashes all through the primary demonstrations in Sainte-Soline, October 2022.
At the floor, those groups handle arrested or injured individuals. However their motion isn’t restricted to emergency circumstances: sooner than amassing, they bring about out prevention. As an example, the scientific heart provides suggestions for apparatus to convey, advising to convey mask and goggles towards tear fuel, whilst sharing tricks to restrict their results (maalox or lemon founded aggregate). For his or her phase, legal professionals establish legal professionals who’re to be had to offer toughen to these arrested, and disseminate their touch data, in addition to the reflexes to be followed within the match of an arrest.
Principally political practices
With the yellow vest motion and the adoption of a extra offensive regulation enforcement doctrine, new actors, incessantly well being staff, are rising around the territory to offer care all through the demonstrations. They incessantly take the placement of partisan first assist volunteers, as regards to humanitarian responsibility, and handle the entire injured: activists, newshounds, and law enforcement officials.
To the contrary, the “back base” of Sainte-Soline embodies an explicitly political mirrored image at the implementation of care in social actions, in keeping with larger repression. On this means, it is a part of the historic manner of boulevard medics.
Showing in France within the 2010s all through the profession of the defended zone of Notre-Dame-des-Landes (Loire-Atlantique), the latter have been to begin with as regards to anarchist and leftist actions, a ways from this neutrality. The toughen purposes of the “rear base” are then regarded as as militant practices, which might be a part of a dynamic of devoted care and self-defense that goals to verify the security of the protestors above all. The contributors of the groups additionally needless to say they have been provide “as support for the demonstrating comrades”.
Then, the motion promotes shared posture, the place care isn’t entrusted to mavens. The purpose this is to permit a definite level of autonomy, particularly in contexts the place it can be tough or dangerous to get entry to care supplied through establishments. This might be, as an example, when medical doctors cross on information to the ministries of inner or justice detailing the identities and outlines of other people injured all through demonstrations. Moreover, a collective manner avoids recreating uneven relationships and hierarchies between caregivers, those that have wisdom and decision-making energy, and the ones receiving care, who’re able of dependency with out at all times figuring out the selections.
In any case, organizers attempt to lengthen this tradition of care to different sides of mobilization. A self-managed day care, a middle for other people with disabilities (to struggle discrimination and facilitate the participation of other people with disabilities) and a machine devoted to gender-based and sexual violence have been, as an example, established to permit as many of us as conceivable to take part, without reference to their obstacles.
As well as, data is circulated in more than one codecs (flyers, oral briefings, hotlines, and many others.). It’s been translated into a number of languages, so everybody will have get entry to. Subsequently, particular consideration is paid to the inclusivity of the machine and the need to instill shared accountability. Thus, the psycho-emotional gender emphasizes the need to split from “militant (…) virilistic cultures that glorify a certain attitude towards violence” and make allowance everybody to invite for assist if wanted with out feeling susceptible.
Demanding situations of a political way to care in a repressive context
On the other hand, creating a shared and inclusive tradition of care raises new questions. The primary problem is tracking care after the development: how are we able to ensure that continuity of care on the stage of native teams after the collection? Below what stipulations? And the way are we able to make certain that extra remoted other people get pleasure from it?
In my present analysis, some activists say they benefited from collective mental toughen that performed a key function in digesting their reviews. That is the case with Teresa who explains:
“It allowed us to be sure that our mind, which was once in reality abused, may just say to itself, ‘There, that is what came about. That is fact, it is not loopy. I will be able to say very exactly that Darmanin attempted to screw us along with his armed drive.’ »
On the other hand, other folks say that they didn’t get pleasure from such an revel in, which was once highlighted in my interviews with Katya, then with Chloe. The primary informed me that she didn’t take part in collective care occasions after the demonstrations and as an alternative depended on her family members. Every other expresses that she “felt very, very lonely afterwards” and that she was once no longer at all times in her position within the dialogue areas. A number of other people interviewed additionally defined that they didn’t sign up for the toughen classes as a result of they are living a ways from city facilities. Others indicate that they didn’t really feel justified in the usage of the prevailing units, as a result of some activists would want them greater than they, particularly the critically injured.
Demonstrations in Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sevres), March 25, 2023, captured through police pedestrian cameras.
Every other main problem for the way forward for mobilization is taking care of caregivers, who can temporarily to find themselves beaten. A number of staff contributors file being bodily and mentally traumatized through their revel in, on occasion in surprise for days after the development. This may be an remark that Vincent, a protester found in Sainte-Soline and as regards to the road medication groups, made all through our interview:
“I spoke to friends who were “medics” there. I think they would need psychological support because they were really shocked.”
In mild of the revelations concerning the Sainte-Soline demonstrations, repression appears to be rising as a key factor in social and environmental struggles. Even though many protesters are keen to simply accept the chance of disclosing themselves to rip fuel and even possible harm, the fear can’t cross unconsidered.
