 fine, more than a similar offence in the UK. Four protesters who took part in a violent demonstration near Sainte-Soline, in the western Deux-Sèvres department, late last month against water storage pools for farmers were instantly brought to a "fast-track trial" in Niort two days after their arrest. They face a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a €15,000 (£13,087.10) fine. About 4,000 people took part in the protests in which hundreds clashed with security forces. Some 61 police were injured, 22 seriously, out of a force of 1,000 officers sent to the site. There were six arrests. France has seen the emergence of several such camps in recent years - called Zones to Defend, or Zads - by Left-wing or anti-capitalist opponents of new airports, dams, nuclear power plants and other projects. This time, the interior minister sent 1,000 police to the site so that "no Zad is installed in the Deux-Sevres department nor anywhere else in France". Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister, condemned "eco-terrorism" by some of the protesters who used high-power fireworks and "blunt objects" to attack security forces on Saturday, Oct 29. That drew criticism from Left-wing opposition groups - with MP Clementine Autain, of the France Unbowed party, denouncing it as "a smokescreen". But last week, 39 MPs from Mr Macron's Renaissance group and centrist allies called on any MPs taking part in such demonstrations to be punished, saying they were "trampling the constitution".){kind=link}
Climate demonstrators have been warned they face jail in Britain, but punishments are worse elsewhere
Climate protesters in many European countries face harsher punishments for Just Stop Oil-style disruptive stunts than in Britain.
The climate activists have caused huge disruption to roads and airports, as well as defacing works of art, in a similar way to Extinction Rebellion and other groups in the UK.
The Government’s Public Order Bill explicitly targets groups such as Extinction Rebellion, but still falls short of sentences handed out for similar offences on the Continent.
It will introduce a six-month maximum jail term for people glueing or locking themselves to others, objects or buildings to cause disruption. Disrupting major transport works such as HS2 will carry a six-month sentence.