France probes ‘attempted murder’ after Molotov cocktail attacks on police during protests

PARIS, France — France on Sunday launched an attempted murder probe after Molotov cocktails were thrown at security forces during Paris protests, as footage of an officer in flames sparked outrage.

On Saturday, clashes erupted in Paris and other cities, after hundreds of thousands of people staged a third weekend of protests against soaring living costs.

The Paris police prefecture said that several hundred rioters had attacked security forces with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail.

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While riots were less widespread than two weeks ago, when France experienced some of its worst unrest in years, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Saturday that the level of violence perpetrated by some was “extraordinary.”

Dramatic images showed a homemade incendiary device exploding at the feet of a security officer in protective gear, engulfing his lower body in flames.

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Prosecutors said an investigation had been opened for “attempted murder of persons vested with public authority.”

“Explosive devices were thrown at around 15 gendarmes as well as police officers,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Gendarmes are military police officers who are part of the French armed forces.

An assessment of the injured was ongoing, prosecutors said, adding that the reported injuries included second-degree burns.

‘Close to a catastrophe’

The gendarme struck by the Molotov cocktail said his unit was “under assault,” with glass bottles, paving stones, shards of glass, and firebombs thrown at them.

“We were hit by several significant incendiary devices,” he told broadcaster RTL on condition of anonymity.

“The flammable substance was so greasy that I could feel it spreading across my skin,” he said. “I kept wondering when it would stop because I really felt as though I had been coated by the heat itself.”

The officer, who received minor injuries, said the leg and shin protections on his riot uniform melted.

After watching the footage of the firebomb attack that injured him, he said he was surprised by “the intensity” of the incident. The video made him realize “that we may also have come close to a catastrophe.”

His unit had been on leave, but was recalled ahead of the protests.

The gendarmerie said that 13 members of the officer’s unit were injured, according to RTL.

No suspects have been arrested at this stage in connection with the incident, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that investigators were working to identify those responsible.

‘Far cry from 1968’

The protests come in a tense political climate, with presidential elections six months away and frontrunner Marine Le Pen vowing to restore law and order if elected next year.

Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, said on X that those responsible for the firebomb attack must be “punished with the utmost severity.”

Both she and Bruno Retailleau, head of the right-wing Republicans, described images of the officer in flames as “unbearable.”

Right-leaning Le Figaro said: “The days of the May 1968 riots are a far cry from today.”

More than 770 people were arrested across France, the interior ministry said.

A total of 159 members of law enforcement were injured during protests and Halloween celebrations, the ministry said.

The number of shops damaged on the sidelines of Saturday’s protests was significantly lower than during previous weekends, with some 20 businesses affected, according to France’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI).

But CCI France voiced concern about the impact of the protests on retail activity ahead of the year-end holiday season, a peak period for businesses.

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