Paris opens attempted murder case after attack on gendarmes at protest rallies

Attempted murder case opened

The Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation on Sunday on charges of attempted murder after bottles filled with a flammable mixture were thrown at law enforcement officers during a demonstration in the capital on Saturday. According to the prosecutor's office, explosive devices were thrown at approximately 15 gendarmes as well as police officers; no suspects have been detained so far, and investigators are still clarifying the number and severity of injuries. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the incident as an attempted murder, Deutsche Welle reports.

An officer engulfed in flames

The incident occurred near Porte de Charenton, where the Saturday column came to an end. AFP footage shows a homemade incendiary device exploding at a gendarme's feet, with his protective gear catching fire. According to the prosecutor's office, the injuries include second-degree burns and ringing in the ears, although this information is preliminary.

Testimony of the injured gendarme

The injured officer, who under French rules identified himself only as Captain Alexandre, told AFP, that his unit had been 'attacked': glass bottles, paving stones and incendiary mixtures were hurled at them. He described how the flammable substance spread across his skin and noted that the protective pads on his uniform had melted. According to the gendarmerie, 13 people in the unit were injured. BBC News, citing Le Figaro, adds: the officer suffered burns to his ankle and minor injuries to his hand, and the device, in his words, 'had far greater flammable capacity than a standard Molotov cocktail'; the liquid has not yet been identified. He also recounted that a man who rushed to put out the fire with his bare hands was pushed back by a colleague who mistook him for an attacker — the gendarme thanked him for his help.

Detentions and the scale of the protests

The Interior Ministry reported 779 detentions across the country over the weekend — a figure covering both the demonstrations and Halloween night, updating the preliminary evening figure of 565 people. The Paris prosecutor's office separately reported 105 detentions in the capital: 88 related to the protests and 17 to Halloween; 89 people remain in custody, including at least 22 minors. The protests, whose third wave took place over the past weekend, are directed against the rising cost of living and government policy: the ministry estimated turnout at 320,000 people, while the trade unions put it at nearly 500,000. The number of detentions was lower than the 1,314 recorded the previous Saturday and the 2,628 on October 17, when mass riots and looting took place.

Context and political reaction

AFP notes that the unrest was less extensive than two weeks earlier, when France experienced some of the most serious disturbances in recent years; however, Nuñez described the violence as 'extraordinary'. Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, who is considered the favourite in the presidential elections, which are about six months away, demanded on X that the perpetrators be punished 'with the utmost severity'; she and Bruno Retailleau, head of the right-wing Republicans, called the image of the burning officer 'unbearable'. According to BBC News, the organisers of the 'Yellow Vests' protests said dozens of demonstrators had been seriously injured; after a 15-year-old teenager had his hand torn off in early October, France suspended the use of one type of stun grenade, although Le Monde reported that the police continued to use another model. The protests, driven mainly by the high cost of living and the state of public services, including schools, began at the end of September and also took place in Germany and Italy.