• Two young women filming the demonstration against the pension reform in Rennes were assaulted by a police officer.
  • The video of the intervention of the man in charge of maintaining order was widely relayed on social networks.
  • The journalist and the observer do not plan to file a complaint at this time.

The images have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. They have been shared and reshared, often to denounce the excessive use of force by the police during demonstrations. On this video shot this Thursday during the demonstration in Rennes, we clearly see a police officer attacking a woman while the latter is in the middle of the street of Saint-Malo. The man in uniform hits her legs with a baton before tearing off the mask and glasses she wears to protect herself from tear gas.

The officer then walks towards another woman who is filming the scene. The journalist steps back but the policeman insists on tearing off her glasses. If the scene has been so relayed, it is because it clearly questions the inappropriate use of force by this police officer. "We were alone in the street, we did nothing but film. There was no one behind us, no danger," Ema said.

While we are filming with an independent observer @m_a_ema, police officers attack us, beating us with batons, tearing off glasses, beating on the phone, "get out!" #Rennes #NonALaReformeDesRetraites #manifestation #manif15mars #Greve15mars pic.twitter.com/jNxLdonQBA

— AB7 Media (@Ab7Media) March 15, 2023

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The young woman presents herself as an "independent observer". Armed with her phone, she has been following demonstrations to "observe police practices" for five months. This is the first time she has been the victim of violence. "When he came up to me, he hit me, he pulled my hair to take my equipment. If he had asked me to take off my glasses, I would have done it. I had the impression that he wanted to get on his nerves, "says the young woman, who continues: "I'm not injured, I only have a big bruise. But I'm shocked, I'm scared to take a blow with a truncheon. »

The scene took place in the afternoon, as groups of demonstrators had entered the historic center of Rennes, in the wake of the demonstration against the pension reform. Several incidents punctuated the day, including the assault of two security guards at the new Mama Shelter hotel.

"The use of force must be controlled"

Apolline is a journalist for AB7 Media, which she presents as "independent and committed as close as possible to social struggles". She was the one who filmed the scene. "We walked quietly, we were far from them, far from the stage, we were just the two of us, isolated," defends the young woman. Accustomed to covering social movements, she is not surprised to have suffered what she considers "intimidation". "Hitting, it hurts, it's scary. Police officers are there to maintain order, not to hurt. It doesn't matter if I'm a journalist or not, they don't have to act like that, it's not their professional setting."

The man in question is a police officer of the departmental intervention company (CDI) of Rennes. Was his use of force necessary at this time of the demonstration? "I didn't know the images. In policing, the use of force must be controlled. If the facts reveal a disproportionate use, there will be sanctions, "assured Thursday evening the prefect Emmanuel Berthier.

Our dossier on police violence

For her part, Apolline already knows that she will not file a complaint, nor will she report the facts to the IGPN. "Because it doesn't help to file a complaint." Ema explains, for her part, that she will "think about it". "If there are complaints, there will be investigations and answers will be provided," said prosecutor Philippe Astruc.

  • Pension reform 2023
  • Strike
  • Rennes
  • Police violence
  • Brittany
  • Demonstration
  • Policeman
  • Journalist
  • Society