Quentin was 29 when he was maimed and lost his eye. Not at the war front but during a demonstration of opposition to the Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport project which was held in Nantes on February 22, 2014. A project which ended up being abandoned by the State in 2018. The then rope access carpenter could have been the victim of a disencirclement grenade used by the police to try to disperse the crowd of demonstrators. Much violence and degradation had been committed that February day in the city center of Nantes.
Nine years after the events, the victim was awaiting the decision of the administrative court of appeal, seized to try to obtain the condemnation of the State. According to West France, the blinded man claimed a little more than 500,000 euros to compensate for his physical, moral and professional damages. By losing his eye, Quentin also had to change jobs.
The court dismissed the victim’s claims, finding that the state was not at fault. The judges do not consider that the police made “inadequate, irregular or disproportionate use of the dangerous devices at their disposal”, reports West France. If they recognize the “peaceful” behavior of the demonstrator, the judges consider that he showed “recklessness” by remaining in the procession which was slow to dissolve.