On Tuesday 6 October 2026, several thousand people demonstrate in Rennes to demand more resources for lycées. According to BFMTV (8 October), while police are clearing place Charles-de-Gaulle, footage is filmed showing a police officer hitting a young protester. BFMTV writes that an investigation has been opened by the public prosecutor’s office.
Follow-up
On 9 October, France 3 Bretagne writes that an investigation was opened after the video was circulated: the Rennes public prosecutor’s office entrusts it to the interdepartmental directorate of the national police (DIPN), which the public prosecutor’s office confirms to it, for violence. The outlet describes the scene (“A young man with his back to the wall, a police officer facing him. Baton blow to the knees, then several punches to the face and upper body” (translated)) on Tuesday 6 October in front of the Champs Libres, on the margins of a demonstration of more than 10,000 people in support of the lycée pupils’ movement, “a piece of information” (translated) that the Rennes prosecutor confirmed to it. According to the prosecutor, the scene reportedly took place during the clearing of the esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle: after the warnings to disperse, the use of a water cannon and of tear gas grenades, a charge by law enforcement had been ordered.
The video was widely relayed on social media by the La France insoumise (LFI) member of parliament for Rennes, Marie Mesmeur, who says she witnessed the scene (“We saw everything, the gassing, the shield blows, the baton beatings, it was extremely violent” (translated)) and that she intervened with the young man who was hit. She states that she has five or six videos taken from different angles, some of which France 3 was able to obtain; she says she makes, when the elements justify it, reports to the prosecutor under article 40 of the code of criminal procedure. France 3 writes that the investigation will have to establish the exact circumstances of the scene and possible responsibilities.
The identity and condition of the young man, a possible complaint from him or his family, the police officer’s department or unit and the exact gesture (the number of blows) are not given by the sources read; Le Télégramme published around 12 October an article on this scene (“‘He was terrified’: a police officer violently hits a protester in Rennes, an investigation opened” (translated)) of which only the title could be read (access denied). The coordinates of the entry are those of the esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle (Nominatim, taken on 19 October); until now they were those of the centre of Rennes, for lack of a precise location in the sources.