On Saturday 17 October 2026, the Union syndicale des lycéens had called, like several organisations, to join that day the “large demonstration” (translated) of the “yellow vests” (translated) (AFP dispatch of 14 October, picked up by Sud Radio). In Mulhouse, a day of national mobilisation “against the high cost of living” (translated) (ICI), about 1,000 people demonstrate according to the public prosecutor’s office (franceinfo). In the press release of 18 October, the Mulhouse public prosecutor describes the day: “A group of about 400 people was heading towards the station around 4:30 p.m. to try to invade the building” (translated); in this area, law enforcement “were using tear-gas devices to protect the travellers” (translated) and “were subjected to direct attacks and the throwing of pyrotechnic fireworks” (translated); part of the group then heads to the commercial city centre, where law enforcement again use tear gas “in the face of the attempted looting of several shops” (translated) (ICI, France 3). The Haut-Rhin prefecture writes in its provisional tally of Saturday evening that “the first disturbances broke out around 4 p.m.” (translated) and that this tally “does not include the information from the rescue or emergency services on possible injuries among the protesters” (translated) (DNA).
It is in this context that a young woman of 17 is seriously injured in the eye. According to the public prosecutor’s office, “at 5:50 p.m., a first piece of information at the information and command centre reported a woman being taken care of by the firefighters and seriously [injured] in the eye” (translated) (ICI); “unfortunately, despite the surgery carried out as an emergency, the loss of her left eye is permanent” (translated), adds the prosecutor. ICI reports that following an impact received to the eye, she suffered a caving-in of the orbital floor. The public prosecutor’s office does not say which projectile hit her or who fired it: France 3 writes that it confirms an injury linked “to an impact received to the eye” (translated) without specifying the exact circumstances, and L’Alsace: “The nature of the projectile involved is not known.” (translated)
Politis gathered several testimonies. According to its account, the injured woman and her friends, who were near the Porte Jeune around 4:30 p.m., “come across the demonstration” (translated). A friend recounts: “It was calm, nothing was happening, just music. […] And I saw the police who, all of a sudden, threw gas. […] The police threw loads of gas again and one fell on my friend’s eye.” (translated) A direct witness tells Politis: “The cops were 50 or 80 metres away. I saw them fire on a flat trajectory, when they are not allowed to, they are supposed to fire in the air. I saw the grey cartridge hit the girl in the eye and when it touched the ground, the tear gas came out.” (translated) Another friend confirms: “What she received is the tear-gas stuff.” (translated) France 3 headlines “a tear-gas grenade shot” (translated); in the body of its article, the prosecutor does not specify the circumstances. Politis says it consulted a video shot at 4:55 p.m. in which the injured woman is sitting against a railing, her hand over her eye; this video could not be viewed here.
The circumstances of place and time are not established. The DNA live blog writes at 5:12 p.m. that the clashes between “vandals” (translated) and law enforcement “moved to the Porte-Jeune area, in the city centre” (translated), then at 6:01 p.m. that about 1,300 people marched peacefully “before 150 to 200 vandals made the situation degenerate, first outside the station then in the Porte-Jeune area” (translated). L’Alsace writes that the events took place “around the Porte-Jeune, shortly before 6 p.m.” (translated); the public prosecutor’s office places at 5:50 p.m. the first information received at the command centre; Politis starts its account around 4:30 p.m. and cites a video from 4:55 p.m.; franceinfo writes that the young woman was attended to by the firefighters “around 10 p.m.” (translated), whereas ICI and France 3 report 5:50 p.m. The coordinates of this entry are those of the Porte Jeune, cited by Politis and L’Alsace, for lack of a more precise place.
According to Politis, the injured woman and her friends take refuge in a corner with no exit; passers-by try to disinfect the eye and others film, which recreates a gathering; “They threw tear gas at us while we were trying to treat her” (translated), says a witness. Helped by protesters, the young woman is taken away by a fire truck. Politis writes that the prefecture, when asked, confirms the serious injury of a female protester and refers to the judicial authorities; six people were placed in police custody after the mobilisation (Politis), ten arrests having taken place in Mulhouse according to the prefecture (DNA).
Follow-up
On Sunday 18 October, the Mulhouse public prosecutor’s office refers “a flagrante delicto investigation for aggravated violence” (translated) to the IGPN (police internal affairs) delegation in Metz; the investigations, under the direction of the public prosecutor’s office, will be “complex given the large number of people present and the extremely difficult nature of the public order operations that were carried out” (translated) (franceinfo, ICI). Politis writes that it is the prosecutor “of Metz” (translated) who informed it of this referral and who told it that it was still impossible to determine which projectile had hit the young woman’s face; ICI, France 3 and franceinfo write that it is the Mulhouse public prosecutor who referred the matter to the IGPN delegation in Metz, the version retained here. According to Politis, the family has launched an appeal for witnesses and intends to file a complaint. An opposition councillor at the Mulhouse town hall speaks of an “unbearable” (translated) tragedy (Politis). No officer is reported to have been implicated as of 19 October 2026.