France Opens Attempted Murder Probe After Petrol Bomb Attack on Police

French prosecutors have launched an attempted murder investigation after a petrol bomb was thrown at security forces during anti-government protests in Paris over the weekend, AFP reported on Sunday.

Clashes broke out in Paris and several other French cities on Saturday as hundreds of thousands of people took part in the third consecutive weekend of demonstrations against rising living costs.

According to the Paris police prefecture, several hundred rioters attacked security forces with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail.

“Explosive devices were thrown at around fifteen gendarmes as well as police officers,” the prosecutor’s office said on Sunday.

Gendarmes are military police officers who are part of France’s armed forces.

Prosecutors confirmed that an investigation had been opened on suspicion of “attempted murder of persons vested with public authority.”

Dramatic AFP photographs and video footage showed a homemade incendiary device exploding near the feet of a security officer in eastern Paris.

Authorities said an assessment of injuries was still underway, with reported casualties including individuals who suffered second-degree burns.

No arrests had been made in connection with the attack at the time of the announcement, prosecutors said, adding that investigators were working to identify those responsible.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez condemned the violence on Saturday, describing the level of aggression displayed by some rioters as “extraordinary.”