More than 20,000 police officers of different ranks – from operatives and commissioners to administrative staff – marched from Bastille to the Republic Square in the French capital on Wednesday, according to organizers.

They chanted slogans and carried union flags and banners with messages such as: “National Police are angry” and “Hands off the cops” among others. Flares were also lit, much to the delight of the crowd.

Several officers also brought a cardboard replica of a coffin with them to the protests to commemorate their colleagues who reportedly took their own lives this year due to tough working conditions. There have already been some 52 suicides among French police officers in 2019, local media says. Meanwhile, the annual average is standing at 42.

Police have been on high alert since November 2015 when more than 130 people were killed in terrorist attacks in Paris and the pressure on the force has been mounting since.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW