An officer was lightly injured after an incendiary projectile was thrown towards police as a cost-of-living march ended near Porte de Charenton in Paris, BFMTV reported, citing France’s interior minister.
The incident happened at the march’s endpoint on Saturday, October 31. The New York Post reported that protesters threw what appeared to be Molotov cocktails at police as officers tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas. Its account said several officers were injured, a higher number than the single lightly injured officer described in BFMTV’s report.
An Associated Press report carried by the Press Democrat also described clashes near Porte de Charenton after the march, reporting that protesters threw glass bottles and fireworks and that police responded with stun grenades and tear gas. It did not specify an incendiary projectile or injuries there.
The reports do not establish that an officer’s equipment caught fire, and the available accounts differ on the number of officers injured. No further details about the injured officer or the projectile were provided in the supplied reporting.
March drew tens of thousands in Paris
The Paris demonstration was part of nationwide protests over living costs and education. The Associated Press report said the French government estimated that about 320,000 people protested across France, including roughly 70,000 in Paris.
The march route had been moved to the capital’s outer boulevards, from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton, amid heightened security concerns. The reported clash occurred as the Paris march came to an end.
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