French Police Brutalize Teen, Video Goes Viral & Youth Protest

Dozens of highschool students attacked two police stations in Paris on Friday, one day after a shocking video revealed how violently the anti-riot forces brutally beat a Black student who was participating in a march against a controversial labor reform.

Students also reportedly stole food from two supermarkets in the north of the capital – food that they immediately redistributed to the refugees camping in nearby Stalingrad Square.

The day before, a policeman brutally punched Adan, 15, in the head as was shown by several videos that went viral on social media.

Riot police take down youth who had moments before been among tens of thousands of people protesting against the new labor reform.

 

Partagé au max bavure policière��. pic.twitter.com/CNgv2U0lh4

— okkkkkkkk☺️ (@dinakesS_91) March 24, 2016

Adan told public radio France Info that he felt “a stong injustice” and that he had been hit “over nothing.”

Des amis du garçon "on nous a traité d'enculés, de petits merdeux..c'était gratuit, honteux" #bergson pic.twitter.com/oZVSbDNWhU

— Elise Lambert (@lambert_elise) March 25, 2016

"(Adan's friends said:) policemen called us with insulting names... it was gratuitous, shameful."

Shortly after the video showed the abuses, the police watchdog opened an investigation. Some media and social media users spread the rumor that the boy had previously hit the policeman, which eventually was denied by witnesses and news agencies.

@simoneduchmole La différence est que pour faire condamner un lycéen, il suffit d'un PV. Pour un policier, il faut une vidéo et 10 témoins.

— Maitre Eolas ✏️ (@Maitre_Eolas) March 24, 2016

“The difference between condemning a highschool student, all you need is a warrant. To condemn a police officer, you need a video and 10 witnesses.”

Trade unions have repeatedly described the reform as the worst step back for workers' rights in decades, and ten of thousands of people have been protesting against the bill the past three weeks. This time, the protest resulted in the arrest of 20 people – 15 in Paris, and five in the suburb of Seine Saint Denis.