Occupy France: Protesters in Paris rebuild camp

GlobalPost

PARIS -- Anti-capitalist Occupy France protesters on Wednesday rebuilt their camp in Paris’s business district.

About 50 protesters remain at La Défense after police “cleaned up” their camp the night before, in what has been described by the protesters as a "violent" raid.

Check out GlobalPost's full coverage of Occupy protests around the world

Les Indignés, or the Indignants, are France’s version of the international Occupy movement.

One of 50 protesters still camping out, Jean-Baptiste, told Radio France Internationale that the police intervention, and worsening weather conditions, would not deter the protesters:

"We no longer don't have the right to bring tents, so we brought sleeping bags ... it's really cold during the night, and we are sleeping on the floor. The police don't want us here. We are being repressed, but we are determined to stay."

French police said the operation aimed to clean up cardboard boxes and furniture, but not evacuate or arrest protesters.

But a statement by the protesters accused the police of “fascist methods,” saying they had destroyed the camp “with violence” and stole food and medicine, RFI reported.

More on GlobalPost: OWS – New York's Zuccotti Park cleared in police raid (PHOTOS)

The French raid took place after police in the United States cleared camps in New York and Oakland, California, and British authorities evicted protesters in London.

The French camp had been set up to coincide with the G20 summit in Cannes in early November Agence France Press reported.

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