[makeitdouble]

For context, France has seen a constant wave of strikes and demonstrations for months and months now, with people getting beat to death, going blind, dying of gases etc. and the government not moving an inch. and doing almost nothing regarding police violence.

So sure, rioters are going overboard, but expecting pacific demonstrations at this point is kind of a lost cause.

[mytailorisrich]

People get hurt when they become violent and police responds. Let's not turn the table.

In a democratic society people are free to peacefully demonstrate but that does not entitle them to policy change, that's what elections are for.

There's also a problem with the way people react in France, specifically. With the recent pension reform retirement age in France is still lower than the EU average and yet some people react like this is the end of the world and deserves a bona fide revolution. Why is that? IMHO there is a deeper resentment at play.

[makeitdouble]

> Let's not turn the table.

These tables have turned for a long time now. Whatever police's motivations are, we now have so many recorded evidence of them starting the violence that it's hard to argue they still work under the base assumption of protecting the order.

You might still have faith in the police in general and believe those were just "bad apples" and these number of incidents we somewhat isolated, but the fact they happened still remains and won't be forgotten.

> democratic society[...] that's what elections are for

The gov explicitely chose to pass laws bypassing the parliament's vote, the parliament being composed by directly elected deputees.

Again, there can be many arguments but it's a far more complicated situation than "manifestants bad"