"Like a Thug"... French Police Slap Young Man and Spit in His Face During Checkpoint

Assault Video Posted on Social Media Sparks Outrage
Police Admit, "The Footage Is Authentic"

An incident in which police assaulted a young man and spat in his face during a checkpoint in the suburbs of Paris, France, has sparked controversy.

A French police officer slaps a young man's cheek during a checkpoint. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter)

According to Yonhap News on September 8, a video of about 40 seconds uploaded to social media since September 5 (local time) shows three uniformed police officers conducting a checkpoint on a young man in the street. In the footage, one officer slaps the young man's right cheek with his hand and then spits in his face. The young man did not resist and simply wiped his face, while the other two officers stood by and watched, effectively allowing the assault to happen.

According to Le Monde, the incident occurred on August 28 in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris with a high immigrant population. Police sources acknowledged that the situation shown in the video was accurate. Ali Diouara, the local district's Member of Parliament, filed a complaint against the officer with the prosecution, emphasizing that the young man had shown a compliant attitude without any aggression or threat. He stated, "It is the police who should be afraid, not the citizens."

Another local district lawmaker, Eric Coquerel, also stated on social media that "regardless of the reason for the checkpoint, using violence and spitting at a person who is not moving is unbefitting of the police" and declared it unacceptable.

The Bobigny Prosecutor's Office told AFP that it is in the process of identifying the officer and the patrol unit involved, but did not disclose the specific location or date. Separately, the police internal affairs agency (IGPN) has also launched an investigation. The nationality and background of the victim have not been made public, but French media reported that the young man appeared to be of Arab descent based on the video footage.