France probes attacks as attempted murder - The Express Tribune

France on Sunday launched an attempted murder probe after petrol bombs were thrown at security forces during Paris protests, as footage of an officer in flames sparked outrage.

On Saturday, clashes erupted in Paris and other cities after hundreds of thousands of people staged a third weekend of protests against soaring living costs.

Separately, in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, hundreds of people took to the streets, joining demonstrations inspired by the youth-led protest movement in France. The gatherings, held under the slogan "We've had enough – in Switzerland too", turned violent in both cities, prompting police to intervene. The demonstrations were unauthorised. According to reports, two young men were arrested.

The Paris police prefecture said that several hundred rioters had attacked security forces with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail.

While riots were less widespread than two weeks ago, when France experienced some of its worst unrest in years, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Saturday that the level of violence perpetrated by some was "extraordinary".

homemade incendiary device exploding at the feet of a security officer in protective gear, engulfing his lower body in flames.

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

"Explosive devices were thrown at around 15 gendarmes as well as police officers," the prosecutor's office said.

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

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

The gendarme struck by the Molotov cocktail said his unit was "under assault", with glass bottles, paving stones, shards of glass, and firebombs thrown at them.

"We were hit by several significant incendiary devices," he told broadcaster RTL on condition of anonymity.

"The flammable substance was so greasy that I could feel it spreading across my skin," he said. "I kept wondering when it would stop because I really felt as though I had been coated by the heat itself."

The officer, who received minor injuries, said the leg and shin protections on his riot uniform melted.

After watching the footage of the firebomb attack that injured him, he said he was surprised by "the intensity" of the incident. The video made him realise "that we may also have come close to a catastrophe".

His unit had been on leave but was recalled ahead of the protests.

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