According to the Ministry of the Interior and the AP-HP, protesters attacked the Paris Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière during the parade of May 1st, 2019. A disputed version.
What happened Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 at the hospital of La Pitié-Salpêtrière, on the sidelines of the Paris parade? Thirty people were placed in custody following an intrusion into the compound of the establishment , described as “attack” by the Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner.
Ici, à la Pitié-Salpêtrière, on a attaqué un hôpital.
On a agressé son personnel soignant. Et on a blessé un policier mobilisé pour le protéger.
Indéfectible soutien à nos forces de l’ordre : elles sont la fierté de la République. pic.twitter.com/BjXYFw2XzR— Christophe Castaner (@CCastaner) May 1, 2019
Conversely, demonstrators claim to have been gassed by the police and say they have taken refuge inside.
Read also: May 1st: 330 arrests, intrusion into a hospital in Paris
An investigation has been opened , said Thursday, May 2 the Paris prosecutor. 3 2 people are currently in custody for gathering to commit degrading or violence and the Territorial Security has been seized, he said.
“Violent intrusion” according to the management
Shortly after 16H00, while the tensions between reporters and police strengthened and the procession is separated between the Place d’Italie and the boulevard of the Hospital, plunged under the tear gas, the director of La Pitié -Salpêtrière is informed of an attempted intrusion into the establishment.
“I immediately went there, and when I arrived, the gate was forced, the chain had given way, and dozens of people were entering the hospital compound,” said Marie-Marie. Anne Ruder from France Inter .
Among the “intruders”, “yellow vests” and individuals with concealed faces, assured the director of the institution, who called the police because of “violent and threatening actions”.
Then, dozens of people “rushed up a staircase, passing a bridge to the surgical resuscitation service”, which welcomes “particularly vulnerable patients”, said the director general of the Public Assistance – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Martin Hirsch, on BFMTV.
On the basis of “absolutely uplifting” video surveillance images, which will be transmitted to the investigators, he described the attempted intrusion “while nurses, an intern (…) who were holding the door with all the force they could have shouting ‘attention, here there are patients’ “.
The police arrived after “ten minutes” and dislodged the intruders, according to Ms. Ruder.
Plein soutien aux équipes de @HopPitieSalpe qui ont fait face à une bande de manifestants/casseurs dans une tentative d’intrusion violente dans le service de réanimation chirurgicale! Et qui ont empêché la mise en danger de patients. Merci à la police. Plainte @APHP sera déposée.
— Martin Hirsch (@MartinHirsch) May 1, 2019
A link with a wounded policeman?
While traveling to the hospital, where a CRS was admitted for a head injury , the interior minister mentioned an “attack” by dozens of ultra-leftist black block anti-capitalist militants.
“Nurses had to maintain the resuscitation service. Our police forces immediately intervened to save the resuscitation service, “said Christophe Castaner to the press.
“I do not know the motives for this inexplicable intrusion. I do not think it has any connection “with CRS hospitalization, said Martin Hirsch, who announced that he had lodged a complaint. “I did not see them screaming for a particular wounded person. I do not know if it’s a hospital invasion, if they were fleeing something, “he added.
According to Mr. Hirsch, “there was no degradation, thanks to the coolness of the team that held the door, and thanks to the police who intervened quickly”.
“To attack a hospital is unspeakable,” said the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, who has to go on Thursday.
On voudrait ne pas y croire. On voudrait se dire que la violence ne peut pas tout prendre pour cible.
S’en prendre à un hôpital est inqualifiable.
Merci aux équipes de l’@HopPitieSalpe pour leur sang-froid. Je m’y rendrai demain pour leur témoigner mon entier soutien.@APHP https://t.co/CVbrIXNa0n
— Agnès Buzyn (@agnesbuzyn) May 1, 2019
To protect yourself from tear gas?
Several videos broadcast on social networks show protesters – women, men, with or without yellow vests – showing no visible signs of aggression, parking in the grounds of the Pitié-Salpêtrière and close to the entrance of a building, on the entrance side at N.97 of the Hospital Boulevard. Police officers also arrive at the same entrance 97 and bring the protesters to the boulevard.
An AFP journalist also saw protesters taking refuge in the compound of the hospital – which is several hectares – to escape the tear gas on the Boulevard de l’Hôpital, before being chased by terrorists. police forces, and some arrested.
At this stage, however, nothing allows to say if these people visible on the videos or those seen by the journalists of the AFP are the same ones which spoke MM. Castaner and Hirsch and Mrs. Ruder.
#PitieSalpetriere #1erMai: suite à la demande express d’anonymat d’un des vidéastes, j’ai dû rééditer le thread complet avec témoignage et vidéos. A partager 🙂https://t.co/EihiDhtuzV
— David Dufresne (@davduf) May 1, 2019
allo @Place_Beauvau – c’est pour un signalement – 746 (précisions 11)
Témoignage du Dr Gérald KIERZEK, Médecin urgentiste – chroniqueur santé @LCI @TF1, un des lanceurs d’alerte sur le fichier des Gilets jaunes hospitalisés. https://t.co/M28ztqacgm
— David Dufresne (@davduf) May 2, 2019
The Necker Hospital in 2016
On June 14th, 2016, windows of the Necker-Enfants Malades hospital were broken on the sidelines of a parade against the labor law in Paris. The next day, the executive questioned the CGT and its “ambiguous attitude” towards the thugs and threatened to ban future demonstrations.
The damage to Necker Hospital was attributed by the authorities to a “horde” of thugs, but videos and testimonies collected by several journalists pointed to the “isolated act” of a single masked protester.
