PARIS, FRENCH REPUBLIC, June 28 (HNS) -- Today French television showed burnt-out husks of cars and buildings, graffiti, and bleak, empty streets in Paris. This was the aftermath of a violent confrontation yesterday between the police and student protestors that ended early this morning, with hundreds upon hundreds arrested or wounded. There are reports of some deaths, but none have been confirmed.
Several of the French Republic's pop artists have spoken in sympathy with the protestors, and polling has shown more and more of the people of the French Republic think the harsh reaction by the police was wrong, though that opinion is still largely concentrated in the cities.
"The government has finally gone too far," said Bertrand Cantat, frontman for the extremely popular rock band Noir Désir. "We let our liberties slip away, and now they think they can do anything. Like the rest of France, we worry about the President, but perhaps this is a sign from God that his day is done."
The major left union federations, the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) and the Force Ouvrière (CGT-FO), have called a one-day general strike and demonstration for June 29.
Some support has been more reluctant. The head of the French Communist Party, Dominic Lanteigne, told the press, "We support the students, though we want to make it clear that we view many of them as adventurers and anarchists. They need to co-ordinate through proper unions, rather than making unilateral decisions without their leadership."
President Charles de Gaulle of the French Republic, who would normally be looked to in a crisis like this, is reported by the government to "in stable health" though still in the coma he has been in since June 26. Because of the unrest, the government has not even disclosed the medicial facility where he is being treated.
