France launches ‘attempted murder’ probe after petrol bomb attack on security forces

• France has opened an attempted murder probe after petrol bombs hit security forces during Paris protests against rising living costs.
• Prosecutors said around 15 gendarmes and police were targeted; one officer suffered burns, and no suspect has been arrested.
• More than 770 people were arrested nationwide, while shop damage was lower than before, though retailers fear harm before the holiday season.

PARIS – France has launched an attempted murder investigation after petrol bombs were thrown at security forces during a weekend protest in Paris, prosecutors told AFP on Nov 1.

On Oct 31, clashes erupted in the capital and some 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. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has decried an “extraordinary” level of violence from some rioters.

“Explosive devices were thrown at around 15 gendarmes as well as police officers,” the prosecutor’s office said on Nov 1.

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

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

Dramatic images, including AFP photos and video, showed a homemade incendiary device exploding at the feet of a security officer in eastern Paris, engulfing his lower body in flames.

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

Initial complaints were expected to be filed on Nov 1.

The gendarme struck by the Molotov cocktail told French television of the burns he suffered, describing “skin that stings” and a “rain” of projectiles thrown at his unit.

Fewer shops damaged

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-right leader Marine le Pen said those responsible for the firebomb attack must be “punished with the utmost severity”, in a post on X, describing images of the officer in flames as “unbearable”.

More than 770 people were arrested during weekend protests in France, the Interior Ministry said on Nov 1. It added that there had been “no major incidents” late on Oct 31.

The number of shops damaged on the sidelines of the Oct 31 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. AFP