An off-duty police officer was assaulted in broad daylight on Tuesday in the Clichy-Batignolles–Martin Luther King park in Paris’s 17th arrondissement after being followed and attacked by a man later identified as being on France’s national security watchlist, according to police union representatives and media reports.
As reported by CNews, the officer was targeted after the suspect noticed a French flag attached to his backpack, a symbol commonly worn by law enforcement or military personnel.
Fabien Bogais, national union delegate for Alliance 75, said the confrontation appeared to have begun when the attacker spotted the flag, sparking a tirade of anti-French abuse before the assault. “The altercation reportedly started when he saw a French flag on his backpack. The investigation will have to confirm this,” Bogais said.
The suspect is alleged to have insulted the officer by calling him a “dirty Frenchman” and telling him, “France belongs to us,” before punching him several times. The officer suffered injuries to his mouth and face, as well as wounds to his torso.
Police responding to the scene identified several individuals, mostly minors, who had gathered around the victim and the attacker, who was attempting to restrain him. The injured officer was treated for facial injuries and other bodily harm.
Investigators identified the suspect as Nordine B., a 38-year-old man born in Paris who is listed on the S-list, a security designation used by French intelligence services to flag individuals considered potential national security threats.
Union officials described the assault as part of a broader pattern of hostility toward law enforcement. Bogais said sustained criticism of the police was having real-world consequences, arguing that “the police bashing by a certain segment of the population, and especially by a certain segment of the political population, is paying off.”
CNews reported that, between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2024, nearly 2,650 police officers and at least 2,300 gendarmes were injured in attacks while on duty.
In September last year, six off-duty police officers were violently attacked by around 10 individuals while they were meeting colleagues for dinner in the French city of Rennes. The incident was caught on film and showed a number of individuals surrounding and beating the officers.
Prosecutor François Schneider described the attack as a “lynching,” and two suspects, originally from the island of Mayotte, were arrested and charged. Injuries to the officers included a broken ankle, a fractured nose, and several lacerations from being struck with a belt buckle.
Earlier this month, the Alliance Police Nationale union launched what it described as an unprecedented appeal to citizens to mobilize against what it considers an out-of-control level of insecurity across France due to rising migrant crime, with coordinated marches planned in 24 major cities on Saturday, Jan. 31.
In a national statement, the union warned that “France is sinking into insecurity,” arguing that crime is “organizing, structuring itself and becoming radicalized,” while “the State is retreating.”
Alliance said police officers were continuing to protect the public “at the risk of their lives,” but without sufficient staff, adequate resources, or “real legal protection.”
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