a third complaint lodged against the police

New complaint after the demonstration against the “mega-basin” of Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres). The public prosecutor of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), Philippe Astruc, announced on Tuesday April 4 that a third complaint had been filed by the relatives of a demonstrator seriously injured in the left foot, for “willful violence resulting in permanent mutilation or infirmity, by a person holding public authority and with arms”.

Still according to the prosecutor, this young man, born in 1995, risks “permanent mutilation”. He told doctors he had been hit by a disencirclement grenade. “The medical examiner believes that the injuries observed are compatible with the blast” of such a weapon, specifies the prosecutor. The investigation will have to determine the precise circumstances of his injury.

“No or little criminal record”

In this case, four separate investigations were opened into the injuries of protesters against these agricultural water reservoirs. The first two concern the two most seriously affected demonstrators, whose families have filed a complaint for “attempted murder” and “obstructing rescue”. One of them is still in a coma and his vital prognosis is still engaged. The last concerns a young woman born in 2003, who suffers “very significant facial polytrauma”.

The public prosecutor also specified that these demonstrators had not “little, for the first two, or none, for the last two, of criminal record”. He also insisted on the framework of his investigation: “the use of legitimate force is not, in a democracy, absolute, but conditioned by law. When citizens complain about the use of this force, it is up to the judicial institution to verify whether this use was compliant or not”. He finally launched a call for testimonies, asking direct witnesses and people who had videos of the events to report.