Paris prosecutors open attempted-murder probe after Molotov sets gendarme alight

Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into suspected attempted murder after an incendiary device was thrown at security forces during clashes at a demonstration in the French capital on October 31, 2026. ([amp.dw.com](https://amp.dw.com/en/france-opens-attempted-murder-probe-after-protest-attack/a-79822853?utm_source=openai))

Video circulating from the scene shows a gendarme caught by flames as tensions flared at the end of the march in eastern Paris. The footage, which was widely shared on social media, came after several weeks of street protests that in places turned violent and left both demonstrators and officers injured. ([leparisien.fr](https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/gendarmes-en-feu-apres-le-jeu-dun-cocktail-molotov-a-paris-le-parquet-ouvre-une-enquete-pour-tentative-dhomicide-01-11-2026-WR4VVVONXVCUPN2PRWMG7XR4KI.php?at_campaign=Partage+Facebook+CM&at_creation=Le+Parisien&at_medium=Social+media&at_variant=photo&utm_source=openai))

The injured officer suffered burns to his ankle and minor wounds to an arm. In an interview with Le Figaro he described the device used as "extremely sophisticated." ([newsminimalist.com](https://www.newsminimalist.com/articles/gendarme-injured-by-molotov-cocktail-at-paris-protest-returns-to-duty-211bc0aa?utm_source=openai))

France's Interior Ministry, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez in particular, condemned the attack. Nuñez called the act "attempted murder" and said police were intensifying efforts to identify and arrest those responsible. ([interieur.gouv.fr](https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/actualites/actualites-du-ministere/mobilisation-nationale-du-31-octobre-fermete-face-aux-troubles-pour-preserver-liberte-de-manifester?utm_source=openai))

The incidents were part of a wider day of mobilisation across France; official tallies released by the Interior Ministry put the nationwide total of demonstrators and listed multiple injuries and hundreds of arrests as authorities sought to control clashes that escalated after dark. ([interieur.gouv.fr](https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/actualites/actualites-du-ministere/mobilisation-nationale-du-31-octobre-fermete-face-aux-troubles-pour-preserver-liberte-de-manifester?utm_source=openai))

Prosecutors said they have opened a formal inquiry and investigators are examining video and other evidence to identify the perpetrators; authorities warned that the use of incendiary devices against police would be treated with the full force of the law. The footage and the minister’s remarks have sparked broad condemnation on social networks and in political circles. ([amp.dw.com](https://amp.dw.com/en/france-opens-attempted-murder-probe-after-protest-attack/a-79822853?utm_source=openai))

Photo: press material from the event