In September 1958, the French Ministry of the Interior and the Prefecture of Police anticipated a turnout of roughly 300,000 citizens gathering at Place de la République in Paris to hear General Charles de Gaulle present the Constitution ahead of the September 28 referendum, according to official reports. What followed was a heavily orchestrated government assembly met by widespread public dissent, severe police crackdowns, and documented violence across the French capital.
Security Measures and Crowd Control at Place de la République
Authorities designed the September 4, 1958 gathering as a strictly controlled invitation-only event. Starting at 16:00 local time, police deployed transport vehicles and silver-painted iron barriers in a labyrinthine chicane pattern across a wide perimeter surrounding Place de la République. Attendees were required to present official entry cards to police officers and members of the former RPF service order wearing blue armbands marked with a ‘V’ and a Lorraine cross. Access to the central square—where a podium stood beneath a massive ‘V’ symbol and tricolor bunting—required navigating up to five distinct security checkpoints.
Behind the main stage, Commissioner Bourde coordinated operations from a mobile radio vehicle, overseeing a force exceeding 6,000 personnel. According to operational records, this security apparatus included 1,500 peace guardians, 30 companies of republican gendarmes, six companies of Republican Security Companies (CRS), 300 plainclothes inspectors deployed through the crowds and on rooftops, 46 motorcycle units patrolling intersecting boulevards, and 12 specialized intervention companies stationed on the northern perimeter.
Clashes, Police Charges, and Public Dissent
Despite stringent barriers along the Rue de Turbigo, Rue du Temple, and adjacent boulevards, protesters gathered to voice opposition to the proposed constitution. At 17:20, an elderly man distributed “Non” leaflets near a Rue de Turbigo checkpoint before being slapped by a police officer, prompting jeers from surrounding demonstrators. Police units subsequently donned helmets and secured leather wrist straps on their standard-issue, one-meter-long oak batons.
By 18:00, with official proceedings opening to a partially filled square, police initiated physical dispersals in neighboring streets. Eyewitness accounts and reports detailed rapid baton charges around the Temple metro station, where demonstrators and bystanders were struck and bundled into police transport vans. Near the intersection of Rue Borda and Rue de Turbigo, law enforcement officers systematically cleared thoroughfares, while medical personnel treated injured individuals outside local establishments such as the Café Le Thermomètre.
Speeches and Escalating Violence Across Paris
Inside the cordoned venue, government ministers proceeded with official ceremonies, including the decoration of 99 workers, before Minister Delegate André Malraux addressed the audience. As distant chants of opposition echoed past the police barriers, Malraux declared from the podium that those shouting outside had an interest in the weakness of France. As de Gaulle took the podium at 18:30 to deliver his address on the constitutional framework, secondary skirmishes intensified near the Oberkampf metro station and Porte Saint-Martin.
Security forces expanded their operations across a broader perimeter, involving republican guards on horseback and CRS units deploying tear gas canisters along Boulevard Voltaire, Avenue de la République, and Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. Protesters responded by unpaving roadways and hurling tree protection grilles. In the Rue Beaubourg area, confrontations reached a peak as police pursued demonstrators into stairwells and courtyards. During the ensuing chaos, trade union delegate Georges Nutin of the Renault works collapsed after gunfire rang out amid tear gas smoke.
Aftermath and Official Response
Official services initially denied that live ammunition had been discharged before acknowledging that warning shots had been fired into the air. Subsequent judicial ballistics examinations determined that the recovered round originated from a specialized FN-type firearm issued to specific grades within the police and military. Throughout the evening, reports documented severe injuries inflicted on civilians, journalists, and foreign nationals. Notably, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a formal protest with the French government regarding the treatment of five Swedish photographers during the demonstrations.
By 21:00, street confrontations subsided, leaving major thoroughfares littered with glass, stones, and discarded political pamphlets. In the wake of the unrest, the Presidency of the Council announced adjustments to de Gaulle’s upcoming provincial itinerary, noting administrative caution regarding public appearances conducted under heavy security precautions necessitated by security threats.
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