Prosecutors in the eastern French city of Belfort have opened an investigation after a viral video showed an unmarked police vehicle speeding toward a group of young men during demonstrations linked to the national lycée movement, authorities confirmed Tuesday.
Viral Video Sparks Outcry
The footage, circulating on social media since Sunday, shows a car driving at high speed before appearing to head toward a wall. As the vehicle arrives, several young men flee on foot while two plainclothes officers emerge—one with a weapon at his belt, the other wearing an armband and helmet. They then give chase.
The video was shared with captions accusing the anti-crime brigade, known by its French acronym BAC, of “not hesitating to drive into walls and run over children to catch them.”
Prosecutor’s Account of Events
Belfort’s public prosecutor, Paul-Edouard Lallois, confirmed the incident occurred in a Belfort neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon and announced an investigation entrusted to the departmental police directorate to “determine the circumstances of this intervention by an unmarked police vehicle.”
According to preliminary findings, the police vehicle was first “targeted by a group of four people” near the city’s main lycée, where a demonstration was taking place. The group threw paving stones at the car, which was “struck in several places,” Lallois said.
The BAC officers then pursued the individuals by car. However, the prosecutor disputed the viral video’s interpretation of what followed.
Disputed Details
While the footage appears to show the vehicle driving toward the fleeing young men and crashing into a wall to corner them, Lallois said a stainless steel bin was actually positioned against the wall on the pavement.
“The BAC stopped right next to the bin,” he said, asserting that the car did not drive at the young adults or into the bin. “You can only see the tyre mark,” he added, citing a photograph of the bin that was reviewed.
Three Arrested, Released Pending Investigation
Three young men aged 19 to 20 were arrested and placed in custody following the chase. They have since been released “pending the continuation of investigations,” the prosecutor said.
One of those detained, arrested for violence against a public official during a demonstration, participation in a gathering, rebellion, and insulting behaviour, said he joined the protest because he was “tempted by the group effect.” He admitted putting “stones in his pockets” and throwing them in response to police who were “firing Flash-Balls,” but denied throwing projectiles at the BAC vehicle.
The driver of the police vehicle will be questioned in the coming days as part of a separate procedure opened regarding the conditions of the arrests, the prosecutor announced.
