Students clash with French police as new allegations come to light

Access to 16 high schools in Paris had been blocked by student protests on Thursday morning, with 12 more high schools partially blocked, local media reported.

The protests were in support of Theo L., the victim of an alleged rape by police in the Paris commune of Aulnay-sous-Bois on Feb. 2.

Clashes with police have been reported at several of the demonstrations, with large numbers of people joining the students.

Thursday's protests, organized by the Independent Inter-Struggle Movement (MILI), have not been authorized by local authorities, and therefore illegal under the current state of emergency that has been in place since the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.

Even as police warned participation in unauthorized protests puts students and other participants at risk of legal repercussions, the outcry against alleged police violence appears to be growing in France as new accusations and testimonies continue to be revealed in the press.

A preliminary investigation had already begun on Feb. 14 after a 22-year-old man spoke to the press of unprovoked violence from the same policemen accused in the Theo affair on Jan. 26.

On Wednesday, prosecutors in the Paris commune of Bobigny called on the General Inspection of National Police (IGPN) following the testimony of a city agent. He claimed to have suffered a violent interrogation in Aulnay-sous-Bois on Jan. 30, three days before the alleged rape of Theo L.

Nine high school students were arrested on Wednesday in the Paris commune of Clichy when nearly 100 students tried to block access to a high school.

Following unrest in Paris suburbs, candidate for the Republicans party Francois Fillon called for the minimum age to be tried as an adult be lowered in France to 16.

He also called for the punishment of police officers who had been unduly violent.

Presidential candidate for the extreme-right and president of ultra-nationalist party the National Front (FN) Marine Le Pen called on authorities last week to block anti-police violence protests, asking them to "forbid these high-risk demonstrations."

Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron has called for the creation of a "police of daily security," which would be to "deploy a police better anchored in the territories where it has responsibility. A police that knows the population is better equipped to resolve local problems."

Theo L. spent two weeks in the hospital after an arrest by police in which the officers are accused to have physically molested him. Doctors released the suspect from hospital on Feb. 16, but his wounds have left him with a temporary work stoppage of 60 days.

The police officer investigated for the offense claims to have only hit the victim on the legs and to have no idea how he received his injuries.

Source: Xinhua