Like everywhere in France, protesters gathered on August 1st in the evening at 6pm near the Mayol stadium to protest the aftermath of the case of Steve Maia Caniço. Traffic was disrupted in the city center.
In early July some tension had already arisen due to the revelations in the case of Zineb Redouane, the 80-year-old woman who died in early December in Marseille on the sidelines of several demonstrations.
The national appeal for a citizen rally against police violence was relaunched this Thursday, after the controversy aroused by the recent discovery of the body of Steve Maia Caniço in the waters of the Loire, Nantes, after five weeks of searching.
The Var region responded well to this signal. In Toulon, a small cortege started at 6pm on the “grand boulevards” of the city-prefecture. This had the effect of disrupting traffic in the city center, the route of the event being established on major roads.
Plus de 100 personnes défilent à #Toulon ce jeudi pour réclamer la vérité sur les circonstances de la mort de #Steve, le jeune homme dont le corps a été retrouvé dans la Loire à Nantes après une charge des forces de l’ordre lors le la fête de la musique pic.twitter.com/zX6BPQWySs
— Var-matin (@Var_Matin) August 1, 2019
À Toulon, les manifestants font une halte devant le palais de justice et vont faire une minute de silence en hommage à Steve pic.twitter.com/wn9dJuX4Ye
— Var-matin (@Var_Matin) August 1, 2019
According to the count of organizers, some 160 people (120 according to the police) first hit the street at the roundabout Bonaparte, serving the Mayol stadium.
Half a dozen bikers placed at the head of the procession paved the way to guarantee the safety of the walkers.
Among the crowd, no yellow vest as an accessory, but there were hats and neon tape.
It was also time for a reunion of the “Yellow Vests” Toulon, who have not forgotten their slogans. “Even if Macron does not want it, we are here”; “Castaner – resign, Andrieu – in prison”.
And many other slogans were chanted against the current government, in a crowd where representatives of CGT and France Insoumise had mingled.
“Justice nowhere, police everywhere,” we could hear. Or: “We do not forgive, we do not forget”. And then, especially: “Justice for Steve and Zineb”.
All the protesters then had to take the direction of the courthouse, in order to demand “the truth for Steve, justice for everyone”. On the forecourt, they observed a minute of (almost) silence, in memory of recent victims, followed by a Marseillaise.
On the other hand, no halt was observed before the police station of Toulon, on the boulevard of Strasbourg.
Var Matin
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