Never stay alone

Key points

• Come with a buddy and don't split up.
• Set two meeting points and tell someone who is not protesting.
• If your buddy is arrested: note the time, place and unit, and call the legal team.
• Go home together and organise a welcome when someone is released from custody.

Isolation is the first risk at a protest: no one to witness an arrest, alert a lawyer or help you if you are hurt.¹

Before you go

• Come with a buddy (or a small group) and agree never to split up.
• Set two meeting points: one near the march, one further away, somewhere quiet.
• Tell someone who is not protesting: your route, when you expect to be back, who to call if they don't hear from you. Make sure they answer hidden or unknown numbers (police stations often call from a withheld number) and know your full name, date and place of birth (essential for the legal team or lawyer to locate you).²¹
• Write with permanent marker on your skin, under clothing (upper arm, stomach or ankle — not on a bare forearm, which can draw attention during a stop) and on paper the number of a close contact and of the legal team. In police custody, your phone, bag and papers are taken during the search: without a number written on you, you won't be able to give it. Write only the 10 digits, with no name or label ("Mum", first name, "legal team"), so you expose no one.³²¹
• Write down your medication, allergies or chronic conditions on a piece of paper in your pocket.
• If the risk of arrest is high: tell a relative you will be there and give them a representation folder (employment contract, proof of address, etc.) along with the name of your chosen lawyer (see "Filing a complaint, voluntary interview and trial").⁴
• Find out about the gathering to know the risks, and eat and drink before you leave.⁴

During

• Check in regularly with your group (every 30 minutes, or whenever the crowd moves).
• Stay in a part of the march where you feel comfortable; spot the exits and side streets.
• If your buddy is arrested: note the time, the place and what you see (unit, badge number if visible) and call the legal team. Don't get arrested yourself trying to help.¹
• If the crowd is dispersed, go to the meeting point and wait for an agreed time before alerting your outside contact.

When someone is being arrested

• Film and encourage others to film (so you are not the only target), see film the police.⁴
• Avoid anti-cop slogans at that moment, so as not to make things worse. Chant a lawyer's name instead, or failing that "I have nothing to declare"; listen in case the person shouts a name (their own, a relative's or a lawyer's) and, if so, call it out as a chant.⁴
• Once the arrest is over, find the person's relatives and contact the local legal support (for example the Lyon solidarity fund).⁴
• If you are the one arrested: above all, don't resist, to avoid being prosecuted for contempt and rebellion; listen to the comrades around you for any useful information, then apply the advice in the police custody guide.⁴

After

• Don't go home alone, especially at night: leave together, or get walked to public transport.
• Send a "home safe" message to your contact.
• Back home: if you were exposed to gas, take a cold shower first (hot water opens the pores) and wash your clothes separately (see "Getting there and back").⁵
• If someone is in custody, organise someone to meet them outside the police station: release can happen at any hour.

Anti-repression contacts in the directory

In one of these situations? a beginner (it's my first protest) · on my way to or from the protest · witness to an arrest or close to someone arrested · a high-school student · older

Sources

Each note links to the source of the information. Most sources are in French. Laws change: check the date of the source and, if in doubt, ask a lawyer.

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1. Legal Team Paris–IDF — La ligne antirep est ouverte · AI-sourced on Oct 28, 2026 · awaiting human check ↩↩↩↩

2. Syndicat de la magistrature — Guide du manifestant arrêté · AI-sourced on Oct 28, 2026 · awaiting human check ↩↩

3. EFF Surveillance Self-Defense — Attending a protest · AI-sourced on Oct 28, 2026 · awaiting human check ↩

4. Medicaction — Les gestes à adopter en manif (two-page leaflet, July 2024, in French) · AI-sourced on Oct 29, 2026 · awaiting human check ↩↩↩↩↩↩

5. Soins post-manif (booklet) · AI-sourced on Oct 28, 2026 · awaiting human check ↩