Violence returns to the outskirts of Paris
Just two weeks out from the first round of the French Presidential elections, violence has returned to the outskirts of Paris as youths and police clash following the release of a report which exonerated police action in the alleged beating and rape of a youth worker, Theo, on February 2. The incident occurred in Aulnay-sous-Bois, when Theo was stopped by police while with a friend. The young man claimed that he was beaten and then sodomised with a truncheon, causing injuries which led him to be hospitalised. The report says the young man's injuries are “accidental” and occurred during a “violent and forceful arrest.” There is concern that violence could reach the level of 2005 when a number of people died.