The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an attempted-murder investigation after an explosive and incendiary device was used against officers at an Oct. 31 march in Paris, where several gendarmes were injured.
The incident happened near Porte de Charenton as participants were leaving an authorized march. The prosecutor’s office said explosive devices were thrown at about 15 police and gendarmerie officers. It described the case as “attempted murder of persons vested with public authority.”
France’s National Gendarmerie said members of the 26/3 Dreux Mobile Gendarmerie Squadron were among those injured, including the unit’s commander. The prosecutor’s office reported no arrest in connection with the attack as of Nov. 1. The National Gendarmerie said those responsible had not been identified.
France’s Ministry of the Interior counted 320,000 participants at 291 public actions nationwide on Oct. 31, including 70,000 in Paris. It also reported 779 arrests and 159 law-enforcement members injured during the protest day and Halloween night. The injury figure covers the nationwide events and does not give a separate count for the Porte de Charenton attack.
The ministry’s turnout counts for Oct. 17, Oct. 24 and Oct. 31 were 550,000, 410,000 and 320,000, respectively. AFP and The Guardian described the Oct. 31 demonstrations as the third weekend of protests over living costs. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called the violence “extraordinary,” AFP reported.
