On Thursday 1 October 2026, near place Auguste-Métivier, in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, about a hundred people target the law enforcement officers deployed around a blockade (Le JDD, citing BFMTV). A policewoman of the police prefecture is “chased, thrown to the ground and attacked by several individuals”, according to the Interior Minister quoted by franceinfo (translated). According to Le JDD, citing BFMTV, she was chased by about ten protesters, swept off her feet, thrown to the ground and hit, with at least two kicks; death threats (“Kill her!”) were reportedly uttered (translated). The scene was filmed and broadcast on social media.
Orange (6Médias), which repeats Le Parisien, specifies that the scene lasts less than thirty seconds, that one of the individuals trips her before several people hit her while she is on the ground, and that insults and “kill her” are heard (translated).
As of 4 October, the sources read specified neither the severity of the injuries nor the exact number of attackers identified; the severity was therefore left “Unknown” (status as of 14 October: see below).
Follow-up
According to Le JDD, the policewoman filed a complaint at the 20th arrondissement police station. The Paris public prosecutor’s office announced on 2 October that it had opened an investigation for violence by a group against a person holding public authority, entrusted to the sûreté territoriale (franceinfo, Le JDD); the minister promised to “find and prosecute” the perpetrators (translated). Orange (6Médias) writes on 2 October, relaying Le Parisien, that “the perpetrators have since been arrested and are being prosecuted” (translated); Epoch Times repeats the same wording. This claim is confirmed neither by the Paris public prosecutor’s office, nor by franceinfo/AFP (02/10), nor by Le JDD, nor by any official source read; the Le Parisien article could not be consulted. It is therefore flagged as unverified and is not retained: the number and judicial status of any people arrested remain unknown as of 2026-10-04. The following elements, reported by the press based on communications from the Paris public prosecutor’s office, now address this point: the first reported placement in police custody dates from 5 October.
On 5 October, police officers spot a 15-year-old teenager whom the images of the attack had made them suspect; he is placed in police custody, then brought before the prosecutor on 7 October (Paris Match, based on the Paris public prosecutor’s office). On 9 October, the Paris public prosecutor’s office announces that he is prosecuted for “violence against a national police officer followed by incapacity not exceeding eight days, aggravated by at least two circumstances, namely as a group and during the course of a demonstration on the public highway” (translated); he is suspected of having kicked the policewoman in the back (Actu17) and is due to appear before the juvenile court on 23 February 2027 (BFMTV, France 3 citing AFP, Paris Match). The public prosecutor’s office had requested his placement under judicial supervision (ban on demonstrating, obligation to attend school, ban on appearing on the public highway from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.); the juvenile judge preferred “a provisional judicial educational measure with a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.” (translated), and the public prosecutor’s office appealed these orders.
On 14 October, the Paris public prosecutor’s office states that two other 16-year-old teenagers, “unknown to the justice system” (translated), arrested at the start of the week, were brought before the prosecutor on 13 October “with a view to a summons by official record before the juvenile court” (translated) of 23 February: one is suspected of having given the policewoman a “leg sweep” (translated), the other of having filmed the scene and broadcast it on social media (RTL citing AFP, Actu17). The public prosecutor’s office had requested their placement under judicial supervision (with, in addition, a ban on contact with the co-perpetrators); the juvenile judge refused it and ordered a provisional judicial educational measure against the one suspected of having filmed, and no measure against the other; the public prosecutor’s office is appealing these orders on 14 October. According to the public prosecutor’s office, quoted by Paris Match, the investigations are continuing to identify and arrest the others implicated. The three teenagers are presumed innocent.
The mention of an incapacity “not exceeding eight days” (translated) is the classification retained by the public prosecutor’s office for the prosecution, not a medical certificate. The place differs between sources: Paris Match and Actu17 locate the attack on avenue Gambetta, in the 20th arrondissement, whereas AFP (France 3, BFMTV) writes that the teenager is suspected of having taken part in the attack “in the 11th arrondissement” (translated); the sources do not allow the matter to be settled, and the point on the map remains near place Auguste-Métivier (Le JDD).