France opens attempted murder probe after petrol bomb attack on police
The gist
Paris prosecutors opened an attempted murder probe after explosive devices hit about 15 gendarmes and police officers.
The case tests how France handles violence at youth-led cost-of-living protests.
How it unfolded
- Oct 31, 2026Clashes erupted in Paris and other French cities as hundreds of thousands staged a third weekend of protests against soaring living costs; the Paris police prefecture said several hundred rioters attacked security forces with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail.
- Oct 31, 2026A homemade incendiary device exploded at the feet of a gendarme in eastern Paris, engulfing his lower body in flames; the officer suffered burns to his ankle and minor injuries to his hand.
- Oct 31, 2026Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the level of violence perpetrated by some was "extraordinary"; more than 770 people were arrested over the weekend, roughly half as many as the previous week, the interior ministry said.