French prosecutors open attempted murder investigation after officer set on fire at Paris protest

Prosecutors in France have opened an attempted murder investigation after petrol bombs were thrown at police during weekend unrest, French media reported. An image of an officer with his leg on fire during a clash with protesters in Paris on Saturday has prompted outrage and follows weeks of street protests that have also left demonstrators injured. The officer, who suffered burns to his ankle and minor injuries to his hand, told the French newspaper Le Figaro that the device used was "particularly sophisticated". Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said throwing a Molotov cocktail at a police line was "what I call a murder attempt", adding that officers were working to find the perpetrators. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across France on Saturday in largely peaceful protests, the latest in a series of youth-led demonstrations that began in late September demanding action on the high cost of living and poor public services, especially schools. The French interior ministry said there were more than 770 arrests, roughly half as many as during the previous weekend's protests. Following earlier clashes and looting, thousands of police officers were deployed across the country over the weekend, and tear gas was fired at demonstrators in some cities. Police said, however, that no one had been arrested for the attack caught on camera that set the officer on fire, according to AFP. The injured officer, a member of the National Gendarmerie, a national law enforcement force that is technically part of the military but under the control of the interior ministry, told Le Figaro his unit "suddenly found ourselves facing several hundred hostile, well equipped adversaries". He said police had not yet identified the liquid used, but that the incendiary device had "a far greater burning capacity than a standard Molotov cocktail". "We faced hostile individuals who are not protesters," he said, adding that these adversaries were there with the intent to harm those who represent the state. Fourteen other officers sustained wounds ranging from minor to serious, some struck by paving stones. His unit had been due to be on leave but was urgently recalled to police the weekend protests. Protest organisers, the Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vests, have said dozens of protesters have been seriously injured during recent demonstrations across the country, many hurt by "grenades". France suspended the use of one type of stun grenade while policing student protests in early October after a 15-year-old's hand was blown off, but Le Monde has reported that police have continued to use a different model in subsequent protests. Protests also took place in Germany and Italy over the weekend, as mainly youth-led demonstrations continue across parts of Europe, with varying demands but broadly linked to cost-of-living issues and public services.