France launches attempted murder investigation after petrol bomb thrown at police

Prosecutors in France have opened an attempted murder investigation after petrol bombs were thrown at police during unrest, French media reported. An image of a police officer with his leg on fire during a clash with protesters in Paris on Saturday has prompted outrage and follows weeks of street protests in France that have also seen demonstrators injured. The officer, who suffered burns to his ankle and minor injuries to his hand, told the French newspaper Le Figaro that the incendiary device was "particularly sophisticated". He said police had yet to identify the liquid used, but that it "had a far greater burning capacity than a standard Molotov cocktail". 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. Police said no one had been arrested for the attack caught on camera, according to AFP. The 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, said his unit "suddenly found ourselves facing several hundred hostile, well equipped adversaries". "We faced hostile individuals who are not protesters," he said. "These adversaries are there with the intent to harm those who represent the state." Fourteen other officers sustained wounds ranging from minor to serious, he said, adding that some were struck by paving stones. The unit had been supposed to be on leave but was urgently recalled to police the weekend protests. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across France in largely peaceful protests on Saturday, the latest in a series of youth-led protests that began in late September demanding action on the high cost of living and poor public services, especially schools. Following previous clashes and looting, thousands of police officers were deployed across the country over the weekend, and officers fired tear gas at demonstrators in some cities. There were more than 770 arrests on Saturday, roughly half as many as during the previous week's protests, the French interior ministry said. Protest organisers, the Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vests, have said dozens of protesters have been seriously injured during recent demonstrations, with 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 broadly linked to cost-of-living issues and public services.