Three secondary-school pupils detained following assault on teacher in La Ciotat
Three 16-year-old teenagers are in custody in Marseille for the assault of a teacher who was sprayed with petrol on Friday outside his secondary school. The prosecution has brought charges of participation in an armed gathering and violence against a person carrying out a public service duty.
Three minors in custody for assault on teacher
According to Actu17, three 16-year-old secondary-school pupils are currently in custody in Marseille for their involvement in the assault of a teacher that took place on Friday 2 October outside the Lycée de la Méditerranée in La Ciotat (Bouches-du-Rhône). The teacher, Thierry Laurent, 59 years old, was sprayed with petrol in the face and then violently beaten on the foot during an attempt to extinguish a fire outside the establishment, in the context of national secondary-school demonstrations.
The main suspect, a pupil at the secondary school, was detained on Sunday morning in Marseille. His custody was temporarily suspended before being resumed. The investigation revealed the involvement of two other schoolmates in the preparation and participation in the offences, according to the prosecutor Nicolas Bessone. These two minors were in turn placed in custody at the territorial crime division (DCT) in Marseille.
Charges brought
The three adolescents are being prosecuted for participation in an armed gathering, violence against a person carrying out a public service duty, violence against a person holding public authority, theft on the occasion of a demonstration on a public thoroughfare, and damage to property in a group. The inquiry, initially opened for violence resulting in total incapacity for work of less than eight days, was extended following the discovery of damage committed against a police vehicle marked with the logo by the main suspect a few moments after the assault.
Context of secondary-school protest
The protest movement at the origin of these incidents began on 17 September in the Paris region before spreading to numerous towns across France. Several blockades turned into violence and damage to property described as "urban violence" by the government. The Interior Ministry recorded 6,547 detentions in connection with this mobilisation by Tuesday evening.
The victim, Thierry Laurent, a teacher of physics and chemistry, suffered a corneal lesion to his right eye. He stated that he did not know the teenager and expressed a wish to meet his alleged assailant, a request refused by the police station. According to his remarks reported on BFMTV on Sunday, he was considering resuming his classes the following day.
Source: Actu17