A police officer set alight by a Molotov cocktail during the latest round of French protests has said he could feel his flesh stinging as the fire spread around his body. The attack took place on the third consecutive weekend of riots that have accompanied larger peaceful demonstrations over the cost of living.
A widely shared clip from Paris shows gendarmes in black riot gear holding up their shields as protesters gathered between the Porte de Bagnolet and the Port de Charenton Metro stations. A Molotov cocktail is thrown, landing at the feet of one officer and launching flames up his body.
Interior Minister Calls Attack Attempted Murder
In a press conference yesterday evening, French interior minister Laurent Nuñez described the attack as an ‘attempted murder’ against the gendarme. Speaking anonymously to French news outlet RTL, the officer said the burning sensation was ‘immediate, intense, and it intensifies over time because it is long-lasting, because you can’t stop it’.
He said: ‘We have time to feel it coming on, we have time to feel that the equipment is starting to be affected and to feel that the flesh is starting to sting.’ The gendarme said he did not end up with serious injuries that blocked him from getting back to work. He added: ‘The flammable substance was so greasy that I felt it spreading on my skin, wondering when it would stop.’
Unrest Spreads Across Europe
Images from Paris show smoke and fireworks filling the street as demonstrations once again descended into chaos. The protests originated with calls from school students for better conditions in their classrooms, which soon expanded into anger over the rising cost of everyday life in France.
In the weeks since those initial marches spiralled out of control, unrest has spread across Europe to places including Italy, Belgium and Albania. Yesterday evening, there were incidents of violence and looting in a number of German cities following peaceful demonstrations by youth campaign group Gen Z Regelt – which translates to ‘Gen Z Reigns’.
Clashes in German Cities
The movement is calling for more schools funding and mental healthcare, action on the cost of living, and opposition to compulsory military service. Police closed off the main shopping street in Frankfurt amid clashes between protesters and the police, while issues were also reported in Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.
Polizei Hessen, the police force for the region in which Frankfurt is located, put out an appeal for photos or videos of the violence last night. Incidents included ‘property damage, thefts and serious physical attacks on police officers’, the force said. Boris Rhein, the state premier of Hesse, said: ‘Anyone who behaves like the attackers in Frankfurt’s city centre places themselves outside our society. We will carefully assess the aggressors, perpetrator groups and the course of events, and draw our conclusions.’
The Gen Z Regelt march in Cologne was cancelled by police after participants were spotted wearing masks and letting off fireworks. It was allowed to go ahead, but only as a stationary rally.
