France opens attempted-murder probe after petrol bomb attacks on police during protests

Prosecutors in France have opened an attempted-murder investigation after petrol bombs and other projectiles were thrown at police and gendarmes during protests in Paris and other cities on Saturday. The case follows video and images showing an officer engulfed in flames after a homemade incendiary device exploded at his feet. Authorities said no arrests had been made at the time of the announcement.

The prosecutor's office said the inquiry concerns the attempted murder of persons vested with public authority. It said explosive devices were thrown at around 15 gendarmes and police officers, while the Paris police prefecture said several hundred rioters attacked security forces with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail. Officials said the injured included burns, and one gendarme told a broadcaster that his unit was under assault and that his riot gear had melted in the heat.

The violence came during a third weekend of demonstrations over soaring living costs and deteriorating public services, with clashes reported in Paris and other parts of France. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the level of violence by some participants was extraordinary, even as the authorities said the unrest was less widespread than two weeks earlier. The gendarmerie said 13 members of one unit were injured, according to the broadcaster cited in the reports, while prosecutors said an assessment of injuries was still under way.

The investigation matters because it shifts the episode from a public-order confrontation to a serious criminal probe involving violence against state officers. In France, gendarmes are part of the armed forces and are used alongside police in crowd-control and security operations, so attacks on them can trigger a strong legal response. The scale of the deployment also shows how seriously the authorities viewed the risk of unrest spreading beyond isolated clashes.

The protests themselves were part of a broader wave of demonstrations that have combined anger over the cost of living with complaints about public services. The latest unrest also follows earlier disorder that officials said was among the worst in years, which has increased scrutiny of how security forces are deployed and protected. For prosecutors, the immediate challenge is to identify who threw the devices and whether the attack was coordinated or carried out by a smaller group within the wider protest movement.

What remains unclear is who is responsible for the petrol bomb attack and whether further arrests will follow. Prosecutors said investigators are still working to identify those involved, and the full extent of the injuries has not yet been confirmed beyond reports of burns. The next developments are likely to depend on forensic evidence, video footage and any further statements from police and prosecutors.

French prosecutors have opened an attempted-murder investigation after a petrol bomb was thrown at police during protests in Paris on Saturday. The incident came as the third weekend of demonstrations in the French capital and other parts of France turned violent in some areas. An officer was set alight and suffered second-degree burns, according to the prosecutor's office.

Investigators are working to identify those responsible for the attack, and no suspects are in custody. The prosecutor's office said the case concerns the attempted murder of persons vested with public authority. It said explosive devices were thrown at around 15 gendarmes and police officers, while the Paris Police Prefecture accused several hundred rioters of attacking security forces with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail.

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The protests drew hundreds of thousands of people nationwide, including high school and university students, over education and living costs. Officials said about 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed across the country on Saturday to respond to an estimated 320,000 protesters. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said most gatherings were peaceful, but some in Paris ended in what he described as extraordinary levels of violence.

The attack matters because it has turned a public-order operation into a serious criminal inquiry involving violence against state officers. In France, gendarmes are part of the military police branch of the armed forces, and attacks on them can trigger major legal and security responses. The scale of the deployment also underlines the authorities' concern about the spread of unrest beyond a single demonstration.

The protests are part of a wider wave of demonstrations that have been taking place across Europe in recent weeks, although the Paris case is being treated on its own facts. In France, the weekend mobilisations have combined student participation with broader anger over the cost of living and education issues. The violence in Paris appears to have been concentrated among a smaller group of rioters rather than the wider protest movement.

What remains unclear is who threw the petrol bomb and whether any arrests will follow. Prosecutors said investigators are still trying to identify those responsible, and the full extent of the officer's injuries has not been detailed beyond second-degree burns. The next developments will likely depend on forensic work, video evidence and any further statements from police and prosecutors.

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