Belfort Police Attack: Prosecutor Clarifies Arrest Video After Officer Beaten

A police officer was severely beaten in Belfort, France, on Friday, October 2, near a high school blockade, an incident the Interior Minister described as an attack by a "wild horde of young people." The officer, a territorial intelligence chief, had arrested a teenager suspected of attempted arson before the assault. A video of the arrest sparked accusations of attempted drowning, but the prosecutor says the officer, acting alone and in civilian clothes, struggled to handcuff the resisting suspect, and both fell into a shallow stream that did not reach their ankles. The officer then handcuffed the teen on the bank, not in the water, before being attacked. He suffered a brief loss of consciousness and visible facial injuries. A probe for attempted murder of a public authority official has been opened.