France: Attempted murder investigation opened after plainclothes police officer beaten unconscious during student riots in Belfort

1,949 people were arrested and 305 police officers were injured on Thursday as France descends into chaos

A plainclothes French police officer was beaten unconscious and then kicked multiple times in the head while he lay helpless on the ground.
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A senior police officer in civilian clothes was beaten unconscious on Friday, Oct. 2, after he was chased down and violently kicked in the head by a multicultural mob during high-school protests in the city of Belfort. Belfort prosecutors have opened an investigation for attempted voluntary homicide of a public official in response to the incident.

The attack happened Friday morning as the nationwide high school riots continued. The video shows several people in a smoky field standing over a man on the ground and kicking him. BFMTV identified him as a high-ranking officer who was not in uniform and reported that he lost consciousness due to repeated blows. The youths kicked him multiple times in the head after he was on the ground in the video.

“A high-ranking police officer in civilian clothes was set upon,” BFMTV reported. “He lost consciousness under the blows. An investigation has been opened for attempted voluntary homicide.”

The officer’s name and condition were not released. BFMTV did not say whether anyone had been arrested in the attack.

The charge is among the most serious available in a case of violence against a public official. If the suspects are found and convicted, they potentially face life in prison. However, due to their likely young age, they would likely face a far less severe penalty — if police even manage to find them.

The crisis in France has reached a breaking point. Today, Oct. 2, the French Interior Ministry announced it has deployed the BRAV-M unit in Paris, a motorized elite police force specialized in heavy repression during mass rioting and other emergency situations.Across the country, authorities are reporting 305 officers were injured just yesterday alone.

The beating of the plainclothes officer also came after several days of clashes around Belfort’s high schools. ICI Belfort-Montbéliard reported that projectiles were thrown Thursday near the Follereau and Courbet high schools and that police answered with tear gas.

Prosecutor Paul-Edouard Lallois said 16 people, mostly minors, were detained.

He stated that “all the mobile phones of the people arrested have been seized with a view to judicial confiscation.” The prefecture said five members of the security forces were lightly injured.

This incident in Belfort also comes after a female officer was chased down by a mob and kicked in the head multiple times yesterday, which was condemned by National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and the Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

Nationwide, the Interior Ministry said 1,949 people were arrested Thursday. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said the student movement had been “taken hostage by ultra-violent small groups,” and that 235 people in the education sector had been hurt, including 65 school staff members. In addition, 400 schools were closed Friday.

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