FRENCH rioters have used mortars to fire explosives at police during a savage protest as violence rages on in the country.
The terrifying scenes come as Charles and Camilla called off their official state visit to France, leaving President Emmanuel Macron humiliated.
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Riot cops and protesters clashed during the demonstration against the construction of a water reservoir for farm irrigation in Sainte-Soline on Saturday.
According to authorities, about 3,200 police, some in helicopters and on quad bikes, were deployed to the rural town in western France.
Footage showed the moment the barbarity erupted as the cops came under fire from a barrage of projectiles.
The farm land soon turned into a “war zone” with plumes of smokes spewing into the air as smoke grenades and Molotov cocktails exploded.
The armoured cops were seen fighting back, firing tear gas and stun grenades to repel the protesters.
At least three police vehicles were also set alight.
Emmanuelle Dubee, the prefect of the surrounding region, said at least 6,000 protesters were involved in the incident.
He claimed the activists had defied a ban on protests at the site where a similar protest last October also turned violent.
Gerald Darmanin, Interior Minister of France, said an officer and one protestor were in a critical condition as result of the day’s violence.
However, the total carnage amounted to seven protesters and 24 police officers injured.
The French Minister said the ferocious clash was sparked by a mob of far-left activists who began revolting on Friday.
As a result, 12 people were arrested but it was not enough to quell the barbaric scenes that unfolded today.
The contentious Sainte-Soline water reserve is one of 16 installations developed by a group of farmers to reduce pressure on water mains during summer.
France suffered its worst drought on record last year, which divided opinion on the usage of water resources among the public.
Supporters of agriculture claimed artificial reservoirs was an efficient way to use water on demand.
But critics hit back, calling them “mega-basins” and argued they were outsized and favoured large farms.
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The uprising against the irrigation project comes after weeks of demonstrations against pension reform that was pushed through the French government without a final parliamentary vote.
The mass protests across the country have turned sinister in some regions of France with historic town halls being lit on fire.
As a result, President Macron decided it was not safe for the King and Queen Consort to travel to his country after guillotine and death threats were daubed in paint.
The graffiti — “Death to the King” and “Charles III do you know the guillotine?” — appeared at Place de la Concorde in Paris.
It is where King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were among 1,119 people guillotined after the French Revolution.
But despite the graffiti, no direct threats are believed to have been made to the royal couple.
Charles and Camilla had been due to begin a three-day trip to Paris and Bordeaux today.
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James Liveris
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