A video of youths violently beating a disabled man in Paris has gone viral, but the footage is only coming to light months after it was filmed.
In the video, a group of Black males can be seen repeatedly striking a man inside the Seine-Saint-Denis neighborhood, one of the most multicultural neighborhoods in all of France. The victim is allegedly a North African man with undisclosed disabilities.
“An elderly North African man was attacked by a group of cowards in a laundromat, in Seine-Saint-Denis according to some Internet users. We are looking for the exact location, the attackers, and the father in order to pursue legal action,” wrote the Tajmaât Twitter account. The Tajmaât is an activist network, describing itself as a “collaborative platform for North Africans.”
The footage, which has been viewed over 800,000 times, sparked a wave of indignation on social networks.
According to Le Parisien, police opened a case in the beginning of the week by the Évry-Courcouronnes prosecutor’s office for “aggravated violence.” The victim of the attack was reportedly identified and he has filed an official complaint with the police.
Local police are now working to identify the date the incident occurred and apprehend the perpetrators of the attack.
According to a police source, the facts date from before April 2022, although it appears the victim moved in that same month and no longer frequents the laundromat. Moreover, contrary to what was reported on Twitter, the victim was not elderly man but a disabled person in his forties who was attacked.
Some vigilantes are reportedly already forming groups to look for the perpetrators, and photos of the alleged attackers are being disseminated across social media with calls to find them and “settle scores.”
