This is the moment a policewoman is chased and then kicked to the ground by a gang of young rioters amid escalating student protests across France.
asserted
policewoman → chase → France
What started as largely peaceful demonstrations against the state of education have descended into violent chaos, with almost 2,000 youths arrested on Thursday.
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youths → start → Thursday
Protests began last Monday, when students and teaching staff took to French towns and cities to demand the replacement of absent teachers, an increase of educational resources, school renovations and 'decent' learning conditions.
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students → begin → resources
Paris and Marseille saw the most violence today, where a group of teachers were 'assaulted and doused in petrol' at the Victor Hugo high school.
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group → see → school
As the nationwide rioting intensified this week, scores of violent videos have been posted online, many shot by the rioters.
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many → intensify → rioters
One clip showed a lone policewoman being chased down a city street and then tripped up by a gang of young men.
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policewoman → show → men
The verified footage - shot in the Paris suburbs today - ended abruptly as the officer, who was grasping a teargas canister, lay on the ground.
She is kicked once, before the person filming moves away.
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person → verify → ground
They captioned the video 'police officer swept away' with laugh-out-loud emojis.
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officer → caption → emojis
'The situation is catastrophic,' one viewer wrote.
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viewer → write → ?
'No-one should condone this.'
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one → condone → this
As the nationwide rioting intensified this week, scores of violent videos have been posted online, many shot by the rioters.
asserted
many → intensify → rioters
One showed a lone policewoman being chased down a city street and then tripped up by a gang of young men (pictured)
asserted
policewoman → show → men
The verified footage – shot in the Paris suburbs on Thursday – ended abruptly as the officer, who was grasping a teargas cannister, was kicked to the floor.
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who → verify → floor
The person filming captioned the video 'police officer swept away' with a series of laugh-out-loud emojis
Their sentiments were echoed by former leader of France's hard-right National Rally party, politician and lawyer Marine Le Pen.
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sentiments → film → party
She wrote on X: 'The image of this young policewoman, pursued by a howling mob screaming its hatred, thrown to the ground and assaulted, is unbearable.
'
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image → write → ground
These acts deserve exemplary punishments.
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acts → deserve → punishments
Let her know that tonight, millions of French people offer her their warm support.'
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millions → let → support
National Rally President Jordan Bardella said: 'Footage of a policewoman being chased through the streets and mobbed on the ground this morning in Paris illustrates what France has become after decades of laxity and mass immigration.
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France → say → laxity
How long will we tolerate this barbarism?
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we → tolerate → barbarism
How long will we let our country sink without reacting?'
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country → let → ?
Condemning 'the unbridled violence', Interior Minister Laurent Nunez revealed that 1,949 people were arrested on Thursday alone, most aged between 15 and 18 and taken into custody for a range of public order offences.
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most → condemn → offences
He condemned 'the targeting of law enforcement officers, the throwing of missiles, acts of violence, verbal abuse, attempted arson, and all-round urban violence.'
At least 305 police officers and members of the armed forces have been injured.
Students pose before burning trash as high school students demonstrate countrywide over what they denounce as poor learning conditions, near the Lycee Deodat high school in Toulouse, south-western France
French student protesters burn trash bins and bicycles during clashes with French riot police (CRS) in Aubervilliers, near Paris, France, on Thursday
High-school students as a fire burns in the background near the Lycee Deodat in Toulouse south-western France, on October 1, 2026
The unrest gathered pace this week after the Left-wing mayor of the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, told protesters on Tuesday 'violence can be legitimate' in remarks that sparked fury across the country.
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that → condemn → country
Other LFI members have been seen outside blockaded school buildings, urging youngsters on using megaphones.
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members → see → megaphones
Teenagers at lycées - the equivalent of a British upper school including the 6th form – have been blockading their schools since last week
In Marseille, staff at the Victor Hugo High School were splashed with petrol as the school was targeted in an arson attempt.
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school → include → attempt
All members of staff were forced to take refuge inside the building for their safety.
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members → force → safety
In Nantes, the entrance hall of Nelson Mandela High School was destroyed by a fire this morning.
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hall → destroy → fire
The school's deputy head Gaelle Cordier said this was an act of 'arson'.
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this → say → arson
Footage from the school showed all storeys of the entrance hall alight, as people stood around and watched.
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people → show → hall
Another clip, captured from further away, showed smoke rising out of the building.
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smoke → capture → building
Elsewhere in Marseille, a firefighter was injured after rioters set a fire engine alight near the Saint-Exupéry high school this morning.
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rioters → injure → school
A video of the incident showed black-clad young men battering the emergency vehicle with metal objects, before cheering as a fire quickly began consuming it.
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fire → show → it
Videos posted online have shown heavily-armed police using teargas and baton charges to fight back against the rioters.
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police → post → rioters
French Gendarmes run towards a high school student that pointed a firework launcher at them as protesting students demonstrate in the streets of Bordeaux, south-western France
The Left-wing mayor of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko told protesters on Tuesday 'violence can be legitimate'
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violence → run → Tuesday
Protesting students throw items on to burning bins in Lille, northern France
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students → protest → Lille
Officers have been accused of brutality after a 14-year-old lost six teeth when an officer fired a tear-gas grenade into his jaw at point-blank range outside a school.
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officer → accuse → school
The police watchdog, which claimed the teenager had hit a policewoman before the grenade was fired, has launched an investigation.
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grenade → claim → investigation
The mayor of the city, Benoit Payan, today called for calm.
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mayor → call → calm
He wrote on social media: 'Our youth is legitimately concerned about its future and that of the public service.
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youth → write → service
It must be able to express itself in a calm framework.
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It → express → framework
Today, our city is the scene of unacceptable violence, fires, and assaults suffered by teachers, firefighters, journalists and Marseillais, which no cause can justify.
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cause → suffer → which
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
