Get you up to speed: Police officer who was set on fire in Paris protests says he felt ‘burn rising’ | News World
A police officer in Paris was set on fire by a Molotov cocktail during ongoing protests over the cost of living. The French interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, described the attack as an ‘attempted murder’ against the gendarme, who reported that he did not sustain serious injuries.
The French police investigation into the attack on the gendarme continues, with officials labelling it an attempted murder. Meanwhile, protests that began over classroom conditions have escalated into widespread unrest across multiple European countries, including Italy, Belgium, and Germany, where police reported incidents of violence and property damage.
French interior minister Laurent Nuñez condemned the Molotov cocktail attack on the police officer as an “attempted murder,” signalling a potential increase in security measures during ongoing protests. Meanwhile, Boris Rhein, the state premier of Hesse, announced a thorough assessment of the recent violent incidents in German cities, emphasizing a need for accountability among the aggressors.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how many police officers were injured during the protests across France and Germany.
Police officer injured by Molotov cocktail during Paris protests describes ordeal
A police officer who was set alight by a Molotov cocktail in the latest round of French protests has said he could feel his flesh sting as the fire spread around his body.
Riots spread across the country for the third weekend in a row yesterday, on the margins of larger peaceful demonstrations over the cost of living.
One widely shared clip from Paris shows gendarmes in black riot gear holding their shields up as protesters gathered between the Porte de Bagnolet and the Port de Charenton WTX stations.
A Molotov cocktail is thrown, landing at the feet of one police officer and launching flames up his body.
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.
A gendarme on fire during yesterday’s protests (Picture: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images)
He added: ‘The flammable substance was so greasy that I felt it spreading on my skin, wondering when it would stop.’
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’.
The movement is calling for more schools funding and mental healthcare, action on the cost of living, and opposition to compulsory military service.
A man in a Batman costume at the protests in Germany (Picture: Andreas Arnold/DPA via AP)
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.
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.
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