Up to 100 people have spent their third night camped outside in Paris' premier business district, La Défense, according to protestors.

"/> Up to 100 people have spent their third night camped outside in Paris' premier business district, La Défense, according to protestors.

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Anti-capitalist protestors camp out in Paris

Up to 100 people have spent their third night camped outside in Paris' premier business district, La Défense, according to protestors.

Published: 7 November 2011 14:28 CET

Anti-capitalist protestors camp out in Paris

Philippe Leroyer

The protestors have taken their lead from similar protests in other cities around the world including Madrid, Athens and New York.

La Défense, in the west of the capital, is home to some of France’s biggest companies including the bank Société Générale, oil company Total and energy company EDF.

The area is known for its skyscrapers and the huge Grande Arche de la Défense which looks back towards Paris.

“There were 80 to 100 of us overnight and 100 of us today to discuss and sing,” said one of the protestors, reported business daily Les Echos.

A number of groups, including Uncut France, Occupy Paris and the Indignés de la Bastille, have been involved in the protest. They claim the action is designed to “put an end to austerity, create a true democracy and build a new world.”

French police appeared to be taking a harder line than forces in some other cities. One protestor claimed they had been forced to sleep “just in sleeping bags as the tents were confiscated by police.”

Police claimed there were 40 protestors remaining on Monday morning.

For those planning on spending a fourth night outside, temperatures are expected to fall to 11 degrees Celsius (52 degrees fahrenheit).

View more photos from Occupy La Défense by Philippe Leroyer.

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Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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