BAYONNE, FRANCE – Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon into crowds of anti-capitalist demonstrators on the outskirts of this southwestern city on Saturday, as tensions erupted ahead of the G7 summit. The clashes, which left at least a dozen injured, have put UK security forces on high alert as global leaders prepare to discuss trade, climate and inequality. The protests, drawing some 9,000 activists from across Europe, reflect a broader anger at the economic policies that have hollowed out working communities from the Yorkshire coalfields to the French Basque country.
Among the demonstrators were British trade unionists and climate activists who travelled on charter buses from Manchester and Sheffield. “They talk about global growth, but our members haven’t seen a real wage rise in a decade,” said Len McCluskey, a veteran union leader, as he stood near a line of French CRS officers. “The G7 is a club for the super-rich. We’re here to remind them that the cost of living crisis isn’t going away.”
On Saturday afternoon, the protest turned violent when a splinter group of masked anarchists began hurling stones and bottles at police lines near the secure perimeter of the summit venue. French authorities responded with repeated baton charges and volleys of tear gas. Plumes of smoke drifted over the vineyards of the Jurançon region, a stark contrast to the opulent chateaux where world leaders will dine on foie gras and Armagnac.
The violence prompted the UK’s National Police Coordination Centre to place counter-terror units on standby amid fears that unrest could spread to British airports or ports. A Home Office spokesperson confirmed that “enhanced security measures” were in place at all major transport hubs, with extra patrols at Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal. “We are monitoring the situation closely,” the spokesperson added.
Back in Bayonne, the chaotic scenes have a familiar echo for those who remember the 2009 G20 protests in London, where a passerby died after being struck by a police officer. “The establishment wants to divide us,” said Maria Gonzalez, a Spanish activist carrying a banner that read “No to G7 – Yes to Justice.” “But we are all struggling with the same thing: stagnant wages, rising rents, and a planet on fire.”
For many locals, the summit is a bitter reminder of how globalisation has bypassed this region. The Basque country has seen its fishing industry collapse and its young people flee to the cities. “Macron talks about a new social contract, but we see only more tax cuts for the rich,” said Pierre Etcheverry, a retired fisherman. “The protests are a cry from the forgotten towns that the G7 doesn’t care about.”
Meanwhile, inside the secure zone, security forces from all seven nations have been coordinating threat assessments. British intelligence officers are embedded with French gendarmes, focusing on the risk of drone attacks or vehicle-ramming incidents. “The threat level is severe, but we are prepared,” a senior UK counter-terrorism official told the Guardian.
As the day wore on, the protesters regrouped, chanting and singing, their voices carrying over the crash of helicopters circling overhead. The real business of the summit had yet to begin, but the battle lines were already drawn. For the thousands of activists camped in a muddy field outside Bayonne, the fight is not just about this weekend’s talks – it is about reshaping an economy that has left so many behind.
