Monday, June 2

I went to bed last evening as usual but was woken in the night by another round of "firecrackers."  Reading the news this morning I would guess that what I heard was pétards assourdissants  (concussion or stun grenades).  Tear gas has also been used extensively.  The paper says things got quiet at 3h30am.  That is, 26 hours after the beginning.

Bon Génie was completely sacked.

Interestingly, there was no casse in Annemasse.  Only in Geneva and Lausanne.

The violence was only brought under control at 3h30am this morning.  But for all I can tell now, IT IS OVER. 

All the owners are out en masse this morning scrubbing the walls and the windows that are still intact and sweeping up the glass.  The voirie was out hosing away the broken glass from the abribus (bus shelters) which in Bel-air are totally destroyed.  Only the frames remain.  And another group of people from, the TPG presumably, were hosing out the tram tracks and inspecting some damage to them in the Corraterie.  I must say that I completely miscalled every nuance that this event could have had.

However, so did the protesters.  Clearly the message received was not the message intended.  The organisers of the protest were completely upstaged by the casseurs and the downtown is a mess of graffiti and broken glass.