The French Navy is investigating the possibility that some off-duty marines beat protesters during protests that have been taking place in the city of Lorient, in Brittany, northwest France, over the past few days over the death of 17-year-old Nahel M., who was killed by a police officer was killed during a roadside check in a Paris suburb.
No official complaint has yet been received, but local newspaper Le Telegram has published videos showing men, their faces covered in hoods and balaclavas, beating protesters in a group. The attack reportedly happened on Friday night and, according to a witness quoted by Le Telegramme, the men later arrested several protesters and handed them over to the police. The newspaper Ouest France also published an interview with a 25-year-old man who asked to remain anonymous and said he was a member of the armed forces and had intervened along with about thirty colleagues in support of the police to “not allow”. let the country burn
Both newspapers cited their own sources within the police, who confirmed that the men with their faces covered belonged to “riot brigades” that the officers on duty had initially allowed to intervene “because they were helping us” before realizing that “they had exaggerated”. .
The Lorient-based Forfusco naval unit, made up of naval gunners and special forces commandos, “has opened an investigation but there will be no further comments until we have concrete results,” the defense ministry said in a statement to AFP news agency. In France, more than 3,500 people have been arrested over the past week over violent protests that began after the killing of Nahel M.
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