International News

French policeman detained over beating of teen protester

PARIS, March 31 (APP/AFP): A French policeman was taken into
custody for questioning on Thursday over the assault of a teenager last week during protests against labour reforms, police and judicial sources said.
A video of the confrontation caused outrage on social media last week
and triggered protests outside police stations in Paris.
The video shows two policemen holding up a 15-year-old boy while
another violently punches him, on the sidelines of student protests.
The policeman was interviewed on Thursday morning, the sources said,
following the opening of a case by Paris prosecutors.
Both Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Paris police chief
Michel Cadot described the video of the incident as “shocking.”
“We were protesting, throwing eggs. A policeman… charged at me, hit
me to the ground then he told me ‘get up, get up’ and he punched me… my head was spinning,” the boy told French media last week.
The arrest of the policeman on Thursday coincided with a fresh day of
protests across the country against the proposed labour reforms.