This Protester Lost His Eye In The Midst Of A Wild Protest In France
The confrontation between police and protesters was the latest in a string that have engulfed France over the last six months. WARNING: This post contains graphic images.
Tens of thousands of Parisians took to the streets on Thursday for the 14th time in the last six months to protest against a set of labor reform laws that supporters claim would make it easier for employers to hire and fire staff.
The protests devolved into clashes with the National Police and the gendarmerie, with some protesters — mostly young people wearing masks — hurling bricks and bottles.
Eight policemen and gendarmes were injured, two with burns from Molotov cocktails.
In response, law enforcement fired tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd. While covering the protest, we witnessed one man take a projectile to the eye.
“You shot me, I want a doctor,” the man — identified as Laurent Theron, 46, a union member and medical secretary — could be heard telling the riot police.
Un autre manifestant en sang à l'œil hurle aux policiers: "vous m'avez tiré dessus" #manif15sept pic.twitter.com/XnMidx9Fz7
“I want a fucking doctor. But are you kidding or what?” he said, seemingly unaware of the extent of his injuries. Two officers and a doctor accompanying the protesters called by the police officers administered first aid before firefighters arrived about 30 minutes later.
David, Laurent’s brother, when reached the hospital confirmed that they unable to save his brother’s eye.
“They tried to reconstruct his eye, but they had to replace his retina with a ball to install a prosthesis later,” David told that, “Laurent was still in the recovery room this morning.” Theron’s union also confirmed the News that he had lost the use of his eye.
“Laurent does not remember exactly what happened when he was hit,” David, who was also at the protest, said. “But [he had his] hands in [his] pockets. He saw young people launch projectiles at riot police about 20 meters away and then there was a rush of police officers. “
The law being protested is extremely contentious in France for a number of reasons, not least of which the way in which President François Hollande’s Socialist party rammed it through the National Assembly in July.
The size of the protests have faded in recent weeks, though, as the furor ebbs, leading opponents to declare the end of the demonstrations for now. But with presidential elections on the horizon, union members and members of right-wing parties alike are unwilling to let the issue drop entirely.
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