The images have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. They were shared and re-shared, 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 policeman attacking a woman while the latter is in the middle of the rue de Saint-Malo. The man in uniform strikes her with a truncheon in the legs before tearing off the mask and the glasses she wears to protect herself from tear gas.
The policeman then goes to another woman who films the scene. The journalist steps back but the policeman insists on tearing off her glasses. If the scene has been relayed so much, 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,” says Ema.
The young woman presents herself as an “independent observer”. Armed with her phone, she has been following the demonstrations to “observe police practices” for five months. This is the first time that she has been the victim of violence. “When he came towards 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. I had the impression that he wanted to get over his nerves”, explains the young woman, who continues: “I am not injured, I only have a big bruise. But I’m shocked, I’m scared to take another blow from the truncheon. »
The scene took place in the afternoon, when groups of demonstrators entered the historic center of Rennes, in the wake of the demonstration against the pension reform. Several incidents marked the day, including the attack on 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 closely as possible to social struggles”. She filmed the scene. “We walked quietly, we were far from them, far from the scene, we were only the two of us, isolated”, defends the young woman. Accustomed to covering social movements, she is not surprised to have experienced what she considers to be “intimidation”. “Hitting hurts, it scares. The police are there to maintain order, not to cause harm. It doesn’t matter if I’m a journalist or not, they don’t have to act like that, it’s not their professional framework”.
The man in question is a policeman from the departmental intervention company (CDI) of Rennes. Was his use of force necessary at this time of the demonstration? “I have not seen the images. In the context of maintaining order, 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.
For her part, Apolline already knows that she will not file a complaint, nor will she report the facts to the IGPN. “Because it does not lead to anything to file a complaint”. Ema explains, meanwhile, that she will “think about it”. “If there are complaints, there will be investigations and answers will be provided,” says the public prosecutor Philippe Astruc.